Asthma medications: Know your options

Articles

Content
Types of asthma medications
Long-term control medications
Inhaled corticosteroids
Leukotriene modifiers
Long-acting beta agonists (LABAs)
Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs)
Combination inhalers:
Corticosteroids and long-acting beta agonists
Quick-relief medications
Ipratropium
Theophylline
Oral corticosteroids for serious asthma attacks
Medications for asthma triggered by allergies
Biologics
Biologic for allergic asthma
Biologics for eosinophilic asthma
Biologic for either eosinophilic asthma or allergic asthma
Making the most of your asthma medications

Category	Purpose	Types
Long-term asthma control medications	Taken regularly to control chronic symptoms and prevent asthma attacks — the most important type of treatment for most people with asthma	Inhaled corticosteroids Leukotriene modifiers Long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) Combination inhalers Theophylline
Quick-relief medications (rescue medications)	Taken as needed for rapid, short-term relief of symptoms — used to prevent or treat an asthma attack	Short-acting beta agonists such as albuterol Ipratropium (Atrovent HFA) Oral corticosteroids (for severe asthma attacks)
Medications for allergy-induced asthma	Taken regularly or as needed to reduce your body's sensitivity to a particular allergy-causing substance (allergen)	Allergy shots (immunotherapy) Under-the-tongue (sublingual) immunotherapy tablets Allergy medications
Biologics	Taken with control medications to stop underlying biological responses that cause inflammation in the lungs — used to better manage severe asthma symptoms	Benralizumab (Fasenra) Dupilumab (Dupixent) Mepolizumab (Nucala) Omalizumab (Xolair) Reslizumab (Cinqair) Tezepelumab-ekko (Tezspire)