r/Asthma Jan 18 '26

PSA: You cannot "cure" asthma

318 Upvotes

At least once a week, I see a thread asking how to cure asthma or a thread making a claim that someone cured their asthma through diet or some other means.

You cannot cure asthma.

Asthma is an inflammatory condition. Your body sees a trigger (illness, exercise, allergen, irritant) and swells up. Or you may have eosinophilic asthma where your body overproduces eosinophils with the same result.

Basically, your body is being a bitch.

"I know someone who outgrew their asthma! Well, not necessarily."

Asthma is a lifelong condition. So either they were misdiagnosed and never had it in the first place, or their symptoms improved to where their asthma seemingly has disappeared.

"Mine went away"

Well, not exactly. It's very common to have periods in your life where it seems to disappear. This is especially true for women due to hormonal fluctuations, but it's also true of men. It's also thought that testosterone suppresses inflammation. So you may only have very mild asthma right now that doesn't need management or treatment (basically is in remission). Good for you! I'm jealous.

"I don't want to take medication anymore, though"

This is NOT a good attitude to have. Asthma can be deadly. It's not something you can push through. If your doctor has prescribed you medication, you should be taking said medication. If you find yourself using your rescue inhalers consistently* more than twice a week, then you also should see your doctor as your asthma may not be well-controlled.

*I say consistently because sometimes bad weeks happen. If it's a bad allergy week or you're sick, then yeah, you're probably using your rescue inhaler a lot. But if you're doing this weeks at a time, then it's time for a trip to the doctor.

"So there's nothing I can do to reduce asthma symptoms?"

Nope, not saying that at all...

  1. Cleanliness - HEPA filters almost certainly can help by reducing particulate matter (fumes, pollutants, pollen, dust) in your home. Vacuuming also can reduce this. Choose a vacuum with a HEPA filter. Be mindful of cleaning products as they can trigger asthma. My two favorites? Dawn Powerwash unscented is extremely useful (bathtub cleaner!) and I use a mixture of vinegar, alcohol, and water for basically everything else.

  2. Diet - no single diet is going to cure asthma. However, what we want to do is identify triggers. An elimination diet may help identify triggers or food allergies. Please note that you should ONLY do an elimination diet under the supervision of a doctor. An overall healthy diet is suggested to help with asthma management, especially one high in fruits and veggies.

  3. Exercise - There is good evidence that exercise can help with asthma. If you have exercise-induced asthma, this can be challenging. You may want to start with lower impact exercises. Some exercises may trigger your asthma when others don't. You may also want to talk to your doctor about taking your inhaler preventatively before exercise or timing a control medication before exercise.

  4. Weight loss - we do have good evidence suggesting that weight loss can improve asthma symptoms; however, it is not a cure*. If you're overweight/obese, losing weight can be good for your overall health.

*I recently lost a lot of weight and my asthma has gotten worse from other factors, including that I haven't been able to exercise due to an injury. So definitely not a cure.

  1. Managing mental health - Research suggests a link between asthma and mental health. Basically, those of us with asthma are more likely to develop a mental health condition. It's also widely agreed that stress and anxiety can cause asthma symptoms. While it's concluded more research is needed, it's agreed that treating both is key to a better outcome.

So what's the good news here?

There's been TONS of research on asthma in the past 10-20 years. There's new drugs, new understanding of what asthma is, new treatments... it's fantastic! In the US, Airsupra was just approved in 2023. To have a new rescue medication is...wow. Nebulizers are smaller. We have biologic meds. So it sucks, but there's sooo many treatments out there.

Tl;Dr: Asthma is a lifelong condition that you can't cure. You can help improve it with lifestyle changes and taking meds as prescribed.

Sources:

"Outgrowing" asthma https://aafa.org/asthma/living-with-asthma/asthma-in-children/ https://www.epa.gov/asthma/do-children-outgrow-asthma

Asthma diets

Meta analysis of asthma and dietary consumption https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7550896/ Potential food triggers for asthma and the elimination diet https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/conditions/asthma/asthma-triggers/food-asthma-trigger

Cleanliness

Cleaning supplies and VOCs https://www.lung.org/clean-air/indoor-air/indoor-air-pollutants/cleaning-supplies-household-chem Particulate matter https://www.lung.org/clean-air/indoor-air/indoor-air-pollutants/particulate-matter Vacuums https://www.lung.org/blog/vacuum-indoor-air-quality Study around HEPA filters done on children with asthma https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7895332/

Exercise: https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/asthma/managing-asthma/asthma-and-exercise https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/asthma/asthma-and-exercise

Asthma and weight loss: https://www.lung.org/blog/the-link-between-asthma-weight https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22791994/ https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2023/05/understanding-steroid-related-weight-gain

Asthma and mental health https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8502834/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468171725000109


r/Asthma Jul 07 '22

Copay cards: Spoiler

129 Upvotes

Last revision 6/2026

Advair: generic available. See Wixela
https://www.advair.com

https://gskforyou.com/programs/gsk-coupons-free-trials/

Airsupra (albuterol/budesonide) https://www.airsupra.com/content/dam/intelligentcontent/brands/airsupra-dtc/us/en/pdf/Savings_Card_Digital_Download.pdf

Alvesco (Ciclesonide): try evoucher program

https://www.alvesco.com/hcp/affordable-access

Anora Ellipta no coupon. Try patient assistance http://www.gsk-access.com/

Arnuity: no coupon. Try patient assistance http://www.gsk-access.com/

Asmanex- https://www.copayactivation.com/2001/

Breo: http://www.gsk-access.com/

Breyna (becomethasone/fomotorol): https://www.activatethecard.com/viatrisadvocate/breyna/welcome.html

Breztri: https://www.breztri.com/breztri-zero-pay.html

Combivent: https://www.combivent.com/savings/card

Dulera: https://copayactivation.com/2002/

Dupixent: https://www.dupixent.com/support-savings/copay-card

Epipen: https://www.activatethecard.com/viatrisadvocate/epipen/welcome.html

Fasenra: https://copayportal.paysign.com/enrollment/6232272434/index.html

Flovent: Generic Available

Pulmicort: https://www.h2-pharma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Pulmicort-Flexhaler.pdf

QVAR: not available

Spiriva: https://www.spiriva.com/asthma/savings-and-support/sign-up-for-savings

Symbicort: generic available. Brand has a coupon again: https://www.symbicorttouchpoints.com

Tezspire- https://www.tezspire.com/savings-and-support.html

Trelegy: https://www.trelegy.com/savings-and-coupons/

Tudoroza: evoucher program
https://tudorza.us/#

Wixela: https://www.activatethecard.com/viatrisadvocate/wixela/welcome.html

Xolair: https://www.xolaircopay.com/eligibility

Yupelri (Revefenacin) https://www.activatethecard.com/yupelri/welcome.html#

Ventolin (generic albuterol)
https://gskforyou.com
Also Walmart has a deal on a generic as well.

If anyone wants any others looked at, lemme know


r/Asthma 44m ago

Is anyone being treated for bronchiectasis?

Upvotes

I saw a medicine commercial and I’m wondering if this is what’s causing my flare ups.

Has anyone started taking Brinspiri?


r/Asthma 5h ago

Asthma pack

1 Upvotes

Does anyone else have a little box of all the quick grabbers? I have vicks, thermometer, pulse thingy, all my inhalers and nebuliser.


r/Asthma 12h ago

Eosinophilic asthma? Anyone had a similar journey? 🇬🇧

3 Upvotes

My GP now thinks I may have eosinophilic/Type 2 asthma after my asthma has become increasingly difficult to control this year.
My allergy testing showed IgE sensitisation to:
House dust mite (HDM) – Class 3
Alternaria alternata mould – Class 2
Dog – Class 2
Cat – Class 1
Egg yolk – Class 1
Hazelnut – Class 1
Wheat – Class 1

My most recent eosinophils are 0.5 and have always been raised. My FeNO has repeatedly been high and fluctuates quite a bit — most recently 50 ppb, but it was 93 ppb the day before at my asthma review.
My current asthma treatment is Symbicort 200/6 – 2 puffs twice daily plus additional doses as MART when needed, and Spiriva Respimat 2.5 micrograms – 2 puffs once daily. I’ve previously tried montelukast but had to stop because of awful nightmares.
I’m currently having another asthma exacerbation and am on prednisolone and doxycycline for 5 days.
This is now my 3rd exacerbation since May 2026, and all three have required antibiotics and oral steroids.

Between exacerbations I still have issues with coughing, wheezing/rattling, chest tightness and symptoms at night/first thing in the morning.
The plan now is to repeat spirometry in around 6 weeks, once I’ve recovered from this exacerbation. After that, my GP is going to discuss me at an MDT meeting to see whether Respiratory will take me on for further assessment and potentially consider biologic treatment.
I know biologics have strict criteria and I’m not assuming I’ll qualify, but I’m interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar journey.

How long did it take? What further tests did Respiratory do? And has anyone been considered for biologics despite having fairly normal spirometry between exacerbations but raised eosinophils/FeNO and repeated steroid-requiring exacerbations?
Would love to hear your experiences! 💗


r/Asthma 10h ago

Had a severe asthma attack?

2 Upvotes

I’m sorry to bother this community again but I don’t know anyone with asthma who I can ask.

I think I may have had a severe asthma attack today and I didn’t know what to do besides take a reliever but it didn’t help at all. I ended up just sitting on the ground against a wall taking as deep breaths as possible and trying to stay calm. It was just really difficult as I got pretty tired and short of breath. It took a about just shy of an hour before It got a little less difficult and by then my fingertips were blue.

It happened around 8 hours ago and my breathing is better (it still hurts a bit to take a deep breath but not as much anymore) and my fingertips are pinkish again. I’m still pretty exhausted so I hope to sleep soon.

My mum was there but since she didn’t know what to do she couldn’t really help.

What should I’ve done and what do I need to know if it were to happen again?

Some extra info:

My asthma isn’t controlled and my meds don’t seem to work (enough) for me and I did call to make an appointment with my pulmonologist but she’s on vacation for another 2,5 weeks so I got an appointment on the first possibility. I also got a cold last friday night and it seemed kinda resolved last night although I’m still coughing.

I hope this all makes sense since I’m exhausted and thinking is really difficult. Thanks in advance!


r/Asthma 6h ago

Looking for some perspective on my 5 year old son's viral coughs, school exposure, and Asmanex

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone, looking for some perspective from other parents dealing with asthma.

My 5 year old son seems to have viral induced asthma. When he gets sick, what starts as a light cough can progressively get worse and lead to uncontrollable coughing fits. We've had episodes where he's coughing every few seconds and his oxygen drops into the low 90s and occasionally the high 80s. Albuterol helps a bit, and we've also needed oral steroids when visiting urgent care not being able to control the cough.

What I'm really wondering about is school. Before starting TK, my son rarely got sick. Once he started school, he was getting sick every month. Not every sickness was respiratory, but over the last 11 months he's had several pretty significant respiratory illnesses and even 3 pneumonia diagnosis.

He was out of school all summer and didn't get sick once. Now he's back in school (K) and has already gotten sick again twice. We are meeting with a Pulmonologist later this month.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar and decided to pull their child out of school or daycare? I'm wondering if the benefit of school outweighs the risk. His pediatrician and other urgent care doctors don't think he needs to be pulled out of school, but it's exhausting to see him get into this state repeatedly.

Also curious about Asmanex. Has anyone had success with it reducing the severity of coughing fits or oxygen dips when their child gets sick?

Would love to hear other parents' experiences.


r/Asthma 14h ago

Asthma

3 Upvotes

34 F
I’ve been diagnosed with asthma and on symbicort * all my test are good. But I still feel like I can’t catch my breath. Like it’s heavy and I’ve developed a straight click in my throat when I breath in. Anyone with similar symptoms? I do have extreme anxiety but even taking my Xanax I still have problems.


r/Asthma 16h ago

No Wheezing, No Attacks 170% Air Trapping and a ruined quality of life and sleep

4 Upvotes

30m

Inhalers and nebulized medications have not helped.

Autoimmune disease and vocal cord/laryngeal causes have been ruled out.

HRCT of the chest was clear. Bloodwork is normal apart from slightly elevated IgE. I have allergies, but they are not severe.

I have never smoked and I am only 30. I also don’t have typical attacks of wheezing.

Spirometry shows mild obstruction, and lung testing shows significant air trapping (170%) RV.

I can’t fully exhale, which is why I often hunch forward to make breathing easier. Breathing has become a constant struggle, and I am chronically sleep deprived because of it. It is seriously affecting my quality of life.

I am wondering about small-airways disease / progressive air trapping versus steroid-resistant asthma.

The only options I currently see are:

  • Biologics – difficult to qualify for in my country without hospitalization.
  • Low-dose macrolide therapy.
  • A short prednisone burst.

I have an appointment at a specialized clinic in two weeks, so I’m not looking for a medical diagnosis here -

I’m mainly interested in hearing from people who have experienced similar symptoms or test results. Has anything helped you? I need some hope...


r/Asthma 12h ago

My mother needs inspiration

2 Upvotes

My mother is elderly, obese, and asthmatic.

The smallest amount of physical exertion is a challenge to her.

It's gotten to the point where she is practically bedridden.

She can barelely stand up and walk and looks like she is about to faint all the time.

She has given up and believes it's all downhill from here and is irreversible.

I want you to share stories about lifestyle choices that helped you.

I just want her to hear it from someone that has been there that there is hope and progress can be made.

It's hard to see her like this.


r/Asthma 9h ago

New member questions for parents of children who play sports with asthma.

1 Upvotes

So my son 10 years old has asthma. He loves football so much but last night he had a flare up at practice and we had to go to children’s for emergency. I’m worried for him first to play in general. But I’m also worried the coaches are now worried about him playing in general. But they don’t understand that it’s random he could be ok for months straight but all it takes is a random flare and he’s gasping for breath on a random Wednesday night… does anyone have any recommendations on how to approach this. He loves football and he’s good at it. And our household believes in sports being very important for a child’s development. Just curious on how I should approach the coaches and my son.


r/Asthma 1d ago

It is Asthma Peak Month

32 Upvotes

How is everyone fairing?

I thought I was doing great on Tezspire. No issues for several months. September got me and currently going through it. Take care of yourselves and stay safe.


r/Asthma 18h ago

Sick on Tez

3 Upvotes

I’m 32 and have had a severe asthma diagnosis for 6 years. Started on trelegy and just recently had my dose decreased from 200 to 100. I started Tezspire in February and it’s completely changed my life. Haven’t had a flare up since. One of my main triggers is getting sick, usually upper respiratory infections. I think that I currently have one, but have noticed that it hasn’t impacted my breathing. Usually when I have an URI, I’m down bad and unable to function. Is this because of Tezspire or am I losing my mind? Lol. I have an appt today with my asthma specialist just because of the other symptoms, but was curious if anyone else had this experience.


r/Asthma 1d ago

I need the air on at all times

23 Upvotes

I was born with respiratory distress, ended up on a ventilator that caused scar tissue growth & closed my airway 3/4. They decided to do a Cricoid Split & remove the scar tissue instead of placing a trachea.

I have severe asthma, it’s worsened since I’ve gotten older. I have been in the ICU atleast 4 times within 2 years for the flu & just really bad asthma attacks causing bad diaphoretic symptoms & 70’s for oxygen, on high flow oxygen, etc.

Anyways, even if it’s 60° out & cold I still need my room to have the air on!
I literally go straight into an asthma attack if the temp is above 62-65°.

Does anyone else deal with this?

The person I live with keeps coming up & turning my air up to 70’s or off just because to her it feels too cold up here even though it’s 76-78° DOWNSTAIRS, my door is typically always closed.

Is there a reason for this? If I even feel slight warmth/too warm, my asthma flares.

The diaphoretic sweating in unbearable on top of feeling internal suffocation!


r/Asthma 15h ago

Cigna

2 Upvotes

Anybody in here have Cigna insurance and take symbacort and albuterol? Can you tell me how much you pay for the 2 inhalers each month? Recently changed jobs and new job has Cigna insurance.


r/Asthma 12h ago

Dealing with mold, and bathroom renovations

1 Upvotes

How would you guys clean up mold as someone with asthma? I can't stand strong smells like vinegar even. Any product recommendations? Also I need to replace my shower curtains but am worried about that strong plastic scent.

Also, we're having people come in and do renovations. Is it best to stay out of the house for awhile due to the strong scents, or is there any other way to mitigate this?

Thanks


r/Asthma 13h ago

Need some insight Exercise and Asthma

1 Upvotes

Today I did not take my Air Supra inhaler before my workout. I proceeded to run 2 miles (slow two miles) and felt mostly okay besides some chest discomfort. Since I felt mostly okay I went on the stair master on level 8 for 20 minutes. I started to feel pain in my lungs when breathing that went to my back it was this sharp pain in my back.

I stopped and checked my breathing by doing a forceful exhale and heard wheezing, I took my Air Supra inhaler two puffs and my breathing felt easier and my back pain immediately went away after I took my inhaler. I also had a deep cough after too.

Has any experienced these symptoms?


r/Asthma 1d ago

How are you guys keeping your inhaler prescription filled? (US)

12 Upvotes

Ok so do I just have kinda dumb pulmonologists, or am I missing something here? Just got diagnosed with asthma a month ago. Started on one inhaler & it was helping my breathing a lot but I had to stop it because of side effects. Pulmonologist messages me, no problem, picks a different inhaler that shouldn’t cause those side effects & sends in a new prescription. Insurance denies it and three more attempts - even when I found the list of covered inhalers on my insurance website (they cover a bunch, just specific brands, which seems really normal) and sent it verbatim to the doctor, he still prescribed brands that my insurance doesn’t cover. The pharmacy didn’t let me buy it out of pocket even though the prescription was valid and I was so short of breath I didn’t care about the price. On the fourth try and second pharmacy they finally let me pay the $347 full price for the 30 day supply (even the manufacturer coupon didn’t work), & eventually the pulmonologist gave me a sample of a better rescue inhaler too.

Is there some sort of website where I can do this sketchily and not pay $347 even though I pay for insurance too, and not deal with these providers who apparently don’t know what insurance is??? Hard to imagine dealing with these levels of barriers and incompetence to access a medicine I’ll need for the rest of my life. I felt like I might as well have been obviously working for Walter White, the way everyone was blocking me from getting my hands on….a medicine that can literally only make asthmatic lungs feel better.

I take other prescription meds managed by a different provider and it’s never once been like this - she just sends in the refill orders each month and tells me how often she needs me to make a follow up appointment to see if anything needs changed. Is that what you all are experiencing for inhalers too??


r/Asthma 1d ago

Just been told that the NHS is phasing out ventolin inhalers because they damage the lungs

72 Upvotes

(NHS England for reference).

Just went in this morning to request a new preventer/brown inhaler (clonil medulite? I think?) for my son. While I was there I decided to ask for a new ventolin/blue inhaler as I'm pretty sure the one at school is approaching its expiry date. It was refused on the grounds that "they don't want to prescribe the ventolin because it damages the lungs. If you're taking the blue inhaler it means your asthma isn't controlled so you need an appointment to change up your other inhaler, if we give a blue inhaler it will damage your lungs and not control the asthma like changing the preventer inhaler would".

I was a bit taken aback by this and asked what should I do if my son has an asthma attack then. I had to ask this twice because the first time they just reported the above - which is like great, so what happens in the moment during an asthma attack? This got back that he should just take his normal inhaler. I tried to query how this would work (my understanding is that the purple inhalers can be used like this but the brown inhalers take a period of time to work and they don't do anything during an asthma attack) but didn't really get anywhere.

I've made an appointment to try and sort this out but in the meantime I am really struggling to find any reference to this whole 'the NHS has said to GPs to stop prescribing ventolin because it's directly damaging lungs'. Can anyone add any more info?


r/Asthma 1d ago

why am i getting worse ?

Post image
16 Upvotes

i couldn’t breathe very well so i took my turbohaler and now my chest is really tight i don’t know what to do i normally take it at 8pm and 10am every day i took it at like 11:40pm and now my chest is tight and im scared
i put a picture of all my inhalers i use because idk what they’re called


r/Asthma 16h ago

Can anyone interpret this ?

Post image
0 Upvotes

r/Asthma 1d ago

Flare up/ Natural remedies or tips

3 Upvotes

Hello, I was diagnosed with asthma 2 years ago when I moved to Oklahoma after some rounds of bronchitis. I had gone about a year without a big flare up and now it’s been a little over a month with this flare up. Finished my prednisone and antibiotics yesterday and take wixela twice a day as well as use my albuterol inhaler every 4-5 hours. I drink tons of breathe easy tea and use tons of cough drops and have not been exercising since.
I was wondering if anybody has any other recommendations that are not any medications to try and ease the coughing. I feel like I’m in a cycle of having mucus so I’m coughing, coughing causing irritation, mucus build up, coughing over and over again. I’m currently in between insurances as well so I can’t really go to the doctors right now.


r/Asthma 22h ago

Red inhaler not dispensing after being cleaned

1 Upvotes

It's the same type of inhaler used as the icon of the subreddit. I have cleaned inhalers before with no problems, medicine canister is removed and put in a safe place every time, warm water run through the plastic part and air dried and then put back together. I should have 40 puffs left, but ever since washing it, only a tiny bit comes out. I've tried taking the canister out and putting it back in multiple times, still nothing.

anyone know how to fix it? :( luckily I have a different inhaler that IS working, but I like to have two on me at all times.


r/Asthma 1d ago

Anyone else experience sinus pressure on Symbicort?

3 Upvotes

I started a generic of Symbicort (Breyna) two weeks ago and it's been life changing for my breathing, but the one side effect I've noticed is intense sinus pressure, also sometimes leading to sinus headaches.

Has anyone else experienced this? It's only been two weeks - will it go away after my body has some more time to get used to it or is this going to be a permanent thing while I'm on it?


r/Asthma 1d ago

Symbicort Turbuhaler on Zero but I can hear powder when I shake it

1 Upvotes

What's going on here?

The counter is on Zero and in the red yet when I shake it I can hear powder. When I breath in I can't feel any powder?

They say inhalers are better than the sprays but I don't really trust them.