I'm a 17 year old and just starting an inhaler due to a really bad cough i've had my whole life. i heard things such as they stunt your growth and how they aren't good for you over a long period. My mom said that her godmother died because she used an inhaler. can someone please help me here with the truth?

What type of inhaler were you prescribed?

The recent concerns over growth are with inhaled steroids in young children. Not to worry. Inhalers not only make you feel better, they save lives when used as prescribed, and they have improved a great deal in recent years. You're wise to be seeking out good information about your condition and medications. I personally like to 'know my enemy' and there is a lot of good, factual info on the Net about asthma - (and lots of nonsense too, so check stuff out with your dr.)

Barb

The steroidal thing is usually a problem when taken in high doses, over a long period of time, in younger children.

It shouldn't be a big problem for you, if it's even a problem at all.

No drug is 100% safe, I mean, I've heard of people who've gone into cardiac arrest just because somebody gave them Ventolin. But that doesn't mean everybody goes into cardiac arrest if you give them Ventolin. As far as that kind of thing goes, these drugs are exceedingly safe -- the only time something should go wrong in the case of an overdose, (when it comes to ventolin anyway,) should be when someone's been admitted to the hospital and they're giving back-to-backs WAY above what the recommended daily dosage on the side of the package says. (Think ventolin 2x every 20 minutes for an hour, then 2x every hour. That adds up to like 52 doses. The side of the package says *SIXTEEN*.)

Of COURSE someone's gonna go up to you and tell you that these things are horrible for your body -- yeah, because being healthy is eminently preferable to taking medications.

I'm assuming you were prescribed a steroid. It's going to calm down the inflammation they probably think is causing your cough. But if you've been taking it for a month or more and don't notice a difference, TELL YOUR DOCTOR, because if it doesn't work, you're not doing yoruself any favors.