Hey everybody,
I had been taking singulair 10 mg for a couple of months and have noticed a significant increase in the amount of respiratory infections ive caught this season. Therefore i discontinued the medication, but does anybody recommend any other prevention medications because although i can survive without them, i'd rather be asthma free. I know of advair but that's basically it and im sort of scared to take advair due to the adverse effects ive read about it having. Any suggestions or experiences are appreciated.
On a side note, does anybody know of any long term effects of albuterol inhalers? When i get a cold i tend to take it every 4 or so hours give or take and i'm concerned about what damage im doing to my body.

If you have asthma, you need to be on a daily preventer. There are many on the market besides Advair. Ask your pulmonologist. I'm on Flovent and have been for 12 years - works great.

FYI, the problems with Advair are generally within the African American population. I don't know if that applies to you or not.

As for Albuterol, every 4 hours is too much. Again, you should be talking with your pulmonologist about what measures to take when you have a cold. Generally, I add one puff of Flovent a day while I'm sick and then go back to regular dosage when I am well.

Thank you,
Does the flovent actually help when you have a cold, because I know for me if i have a cold im pretty much down regardless of whether or not im using an albuterol inhaler.

Albuterol and Flovent are not the same thing. Flovent is an inhaled steroid that is a daily preventer. Normal dosage to start is 2 puffs, twice per day. I am down to one puff once per day. When I get sick, I do one puff twice per day and that keeps the attacks pretty much at bay...and if not, then I go back to the 2 puffs twice per day. This is something my doctor and I have worked out and I just automatically know to do when the situation warrants it.

Albuterol is a rescue inhaler...intended to stop asthma attacks that have already started. If you are using it more than twice per WEEK, your asthma is not under control.

Ok
I'm going to look into flovent then. I do really well with asthma as long as I dont have a cold but albuterol scares me(makes my heart pound and race) so if flovent helps with colds then thats great.
Titchou, im sorry to keep bombarding you with the questions but i really do appreciate it the help. I Know advair has two active ingredients, is the active ingredient in flovent the same as one of the two in advair? and has flovent caused you any long term problems, I just ask because ive always been a bit weary of steroids (even the name association turns me off). What dosage of flovent would one take for mild asthma? As i said i do appreciate the help very much :] I'm hesitant of consulting doctors because they never seem to have the whole clue. I've had a cold for 4 weeks because of singulair and they claim there was no connection, but 3 days after i taking it im starting to clear up.

You can use xopenex as a reliever instead of albuterol. It's a purified form of albuterol, generally doesn't have the side effects (shakes, etc). Some people think it's more effective - I don't think they've decided if it really is.

I think steroids have a bad reputation because of the "other" steroids - the ones that athletes misuse, and the ones that are oral and used for medical purposes. *Inhaled* steroids - especially at the level that you are likely to need them - are very safe and effective as controllers. You have to rinse your mouth after using them (unless you use a spacer) to help prevent thrush, but so?