Asthma Treatments - Are Cortico-Steroids Bad For You? The Most Common Asthma Steroid Side Effects

Asthma medications come in 2 main types, preventers or Bronchodilators and relievers or Corticosteroids.

Many people are afraid to take preventers because they are in fact are steroid, but are people better off to avoid them?

If you or somebody you know with asthma is experiencing asthmatic symptoms more frequently than 3 times per week, it would be recommended to you by your GP to include a preventative type medication into your asthma management plan. This can often scare people because a preventative type medication falls in the a class of drugs known as steroids or Corticosteroids to be more precise.

Steroids have earned a bad reputation because of wide spread abuse by some people, particularly in the sporting world. When people abuse steroids or are administered a dosage higher than required, side effects likely to occur.

The Most Common Side Effects Include:

1. Irritation of the throat and mouth resulting in hoarseness and candida


2. Suppression of the body's production of natural steroids (a dependency)


3. Reactivation of latent infections


4. Suppression of growth in some children


5. Excessive weight gain due to an increased appetite


6. Aggravation of stomach and adrenal ulcers


7. Excessive hairiness and a moon like face


8. Worsen diabetes, osteoporosis, glaucoma and cataracts


9. They may even cause schizophrenia

However steroids can be relatively safe when used in accordance with their intended use. It is much safer to use a low dose of Corticosteroids to prevent asthma daily, than have the need to rely on a rescue dose of a relieving drug every other day.

The doctors who developed Corticosteroids for asthma management won a Nobel Prize for Medicine in the 1950's for their work. What they developed is a synthetic version of the natural human hormone cortisol and when used correctly can greatly benefit asthmatics. These class of drugs supplement your body's natural ability to produce the natural hormone and work in conjunction with your body, unlike Bronchodilators which work against your body's defences and are more likely to cause dependency and make it harder to break the cycle of drug dependency.

If you are looking for a natural alternative there are many options available to you. A life of drug dependency no matter what type of drug it is, should not be an ideal you are willing to accept. I can show you a simple way that allows your body to start producing enough cortisol to effectively control your asthma symptoms without the need for supplementation.