Understanding your asthma medicine is key to keeping asthma under control. But that’s not as easy as it sounds, with several different classifications of asthma medicines available, along with medicines for related conditions such as nasal allergies and GERD. And that doesn’t even take into account general medicine terminology, applicable to medicines for all diseases and conditions. Let’s try to demystify the medical speak, shall we?

General Medicine Terminology

I’ve heard debate over the difference between the terms medicine, medication and drug. One thing is for sure: the 3 terms mean many different things to different people. The bottom line here is that they all basically mean the same thing, a man-made chemical you put into your body to treat a symptom or a disease (or to prevent it). None of them specifically mean prescription and / or illegal. They’re just catchall terms.

Some Other General Terms

Here are some more terms used to describe medicine:

• Prescription, which means a drug that only a healthcare professional can authorize for you to take
• Over the counter, a medicine that you can buy off the shelf in a pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription
• Generic, meaning a new version of an established brand name drug, that is identical in terms of the active ingredient, dosage, safety, strength & other factors

Asthma Medication Terminology

Then, as mentioned, there are terms that are specific to asthma medicines, such as:

• Quick-relief, or rescue, vs. preventive, or controller
• Long-acting bronchodilator (or beta agonist) vs. short-acting bronchodilator
• Metered dose inhaler vs. nebulizer vs. dry powder inhaler
• Inhaled steroid vs. oral steroid
• Leukotriene modifiers (or agonists) vs. Combination medicines vs. Immunomodulators
• Allergy shots vs. Allergy drops
• CFC vs. HFA inhalers
• Antihistamines

Black box warning is another term you might have heard. Black box warnings for asthma medications have gotten a lot of press over the past year or two, so it’s important to understand what they mean. I know all these terms may seem a bit mind-boggling if you or your child have just been diagnosed with asthma, but if you take time to read the different articles linked to above, asthma treatment should begin to make more sense.

Learn More About Medicine:

• Asthma Med Profiles
• Reducing the Risk of Drug Interactions