Inhalers don’t prevent asthma in children

[Celebration]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12726936/

Using inhaled steroids to treat asthma in young children does not alter the course of the disease and should not be used for that purpose, according to two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Inhaled steroids such as Pulmicort and Flovent reduce swelling and inflammation in the airways and help control the wheezing and breathlessness associated with asthma, which affects nearly 9 million children in the United States.

But some doctors prescribe them to very young children considered at risk of developing asthma in the hope of preventing the disease from developing. That strategy won’t work and should be discouraged because there could be risks associated with the drugs, researchers said in Thursday’s edition of the journal.

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1. It's just silly that anyone would think it would

Asthma inhalers just relieve symptoms. Plus, though the article doesn't mention it -- which is odd -- if you put someone on a steroid inhaler for any length of time, it can cause serious bone and joint problems. I know someone who had to have a hip joint replaced (while in his 30's) due to being on a steroid inhaler for too long.