9 Ways to Fight Asthma and Allergies

How to beat asthma?

If you have asthma, there's a good chance that an underlying allergy—whether it's to dust mites, pollen, cockroaches, or cat dander—is playing a key role in your breathing problems. (About 60% to 90% of people with asthma have allergic asthma.)

The first step is to avoid the allergen, but that's not always possible or sufficient to stop symptoms, like coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

That's where medication comes in. Here are some common drugs used to treat allergic asthma.

Inhaled corticosteroids

Inhaled corticosteroids are one of the most important therapies for any asthma, including allergic asthma.

"These are the gold standard and they work by basically blocking the inflammation response in the lungs," says Mitchell H. Grayson, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, medicine, microbiology, and molecular genetics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Known as "controller" medications, they take a few days to work—so they aren't for short-term symptom control. (Here are some inhaled corticosteroids drug names and potential side effects.)

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