Collette: Step Down Asthma Therapy*
Asthma brings on emergency landing
Last year, asthma patient and travel agent Collette had a particularly bad asthma exacerbation. "I wound up in the hospital for a few days," Collette recalled. "It was during allergy season, and work had been particularly stressful. I’m a travel agent, so I'm really busy in the spring and summer. Everyone's going on vacation then. After that, my doctor put me on a combination inhaler and said we'd try that for a few months."
A change in the asthma treatment plan
After a few months, Collette's doctor said it was time to step down her asthma therapy. "I was scared at first. I hadn't had any more asthma attacks, and I definitely didn't want to. But my doctor explained that there were risks with the combination inhalers, too."
Stepping down and maintaining asthma control
"We decided to try stepping down," Collette said, "and my doctor prescribed QVAR®. I've been on it for a few months now, and my asthma is still under control."
*Note: The examples presented here are composite patients. Any resemblance to actual people, living or deceased, is coincidental.
QVAR
® (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA) Inhalation Aerosol is used in the ongoing treatment of asthma as preventative therapy in patients 5 years of age or older.
QVAR
® is also used for asthma patients who require systemic corticosteroid administration, where adding QVAR
® may reduce or eliminate the need for systemic corticosteroids.
QVAR
® does not replace quick-relief inhalers for sudden symptoms.
CAUTION: If you are stopping or switching from an oral corticosteroid to QVAR®, follow your doctor's instructions to avoid health risks. (See WARNINGS, Prescribing Information).
Inhaled corticosteroids may cause a reduction in growth rate, so children taking QVAR
® should have their growth checked regularly. The long-term effect on final adult growth is unknown.
Do not stop taking QVAR
® abruptly without talking to your doctor.
In clinical studies, common side effects included headache and sore throat. These are not all of the possible side effects of QVAR
®. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit
www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call
1-800-FDA-1088.