i have asthma and was wondering if there are any good otc drugs?
612785
With asthma it is always good to steer clear of over the counter drugs.  The Best thing to do is get with your doctor.  Try to get him to get you on a daily preventative medicine like Advair.  I have chronic asthma and I had to be hospitalized 5 times last year.  I'm doing better.  But asthma is not something that you should try to treat over the counter.  But if you must say clear of Ephedrine.  That stuff almost killed me.
238012
check with your docter, sounds like you may have severe indigestion.  You could try equalactin, sold in the over the counter section of your pharmacy.
507742
Mucinex. It is now OTC and you can get it at CVS or Walgreens. It works wonders!!! Also, avoid whole milk and too much cheese. Quitting smoking if you smoke.
31906
Like any medication, there is rarely a best.  Each person reacts differently to different medications.  Medications are usually judged on two major criteria: safety (ie. Does it give any harmful side effects?) and efficacy (Does it actually make you feel better?).  Your doctor will be the best person to talk to in order to decide on which medication is best for you.  \n\nThere are a number of medications that are available for COPD.  There are bronchodilators such as Ventolin (salbutamol), Serevent(salmeterol), and the newest Spiriva(tiotropium bromide)- these generally are used to relieve shortness of breath and open up the airways to the lungs.  There are long-acting and short-acting bronchodilators.  This is the largest class of drugs used for COPD.\n\nThere are oral (prednisone) or inhaled corticosteroids, including Flovent (fluticasone), Pulmicort (budesonide).  These are more for treating inflammation in the lungs, and only help a small portion of COPD sufferers.  This class of drugs was first developed to treat asthma patients, which is a different pathology.  New research, however, shows that there are more common elements to asthma and COPD than pulmonologists had once believed.  As such, they are seeing that some COPDers benefit from asthma medications.\n\nThere have been studies that link COPD to an inflammatory response via the phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE-4) pathway and new drugs are currently being tested that could make it to market.  Ariflo (cilomilast) is the drug that is the closest to being approved, with other drug candidates coming from Bayer and Byk Gulden also being developed.  If your COPD is relatively advanced, and your quality of life has not improved greatly, PDE-4 medications may offer an alternative.  However, one compound from Merck was discontinued due to safety concerns because the drug caused one case of colitis.  \n\nMuch like all drugs, one must seriously weigh the benefits and risks.  This is an exercise best performed with a trained physician or pulmonologist.  Best of luck.
1052583
I had one, it did not work for me. I attended a Buteyko clinic and my Asthma has definitely improved.
60839
No, not if by OTC products you mean drugs. However, you can buy relaxation tapes over the counter. Those work.  Exercise is even better. You can buy exercise gear over the counter.
36067
site below is good for side effects of various\ndrugs. asthma is a phlegm problem (dried or sticky) so it constricts your bronchial movement. natural medicine has many ways to cure or at least improve this condition. Standard western med. treatments all have long term unwanted side effects.
23777
I've tried the OTC drug Musinex, and it worked great for me.
693774
helpful tricks for combatting asthma....\neven though you can't cure it with remedies, you can grow out of it....sometimes. keep a rescue inhaler with you at all time though...but only use it when you absolutely have to...the small attacks...try to fight through them....just take a moment to rest and practice some deep breathing exercises. when you get home from a game or practice, or are even in the locker room....hot showers help... put the water as hot as you can stand it, and stand under the spray, or just out of the reach of the water and inhale the steam. deep breaths once again. another usefull remedy is hot coffee. get a cup of pipin hot coffee and place your face over the top of the cup and take some long deep breaths in between sipping the coffee. when i was your age and younger I had asthma really bad. but little things like this helped me through it....you don't want to become too dependant on your inhaler... because it prevents you from possible being able to grow out of it. i still have them once and a while at the age of 24 but nowhere near as sever as i used to have them. why...because i stopped taking my inhaler unless it was an extreme emergency and found other routes.....best of luck to you....once you get back into shape it should become a litte easier for you.
470917
you know, inhalers never really helped me. You should keep one around in case of an emergency, but don't rely on it or you might end up having to use inhalers life long. My mom taught me when I was 5 years old how to use meditation to help free my airways; I would basically breathe in and out slowly, conciously, creating imagery in my head of my airways opening with every breath, releasing all the tension. It worked for me every time, and now I don't even have asthma anymore. But do keep an inhaler around for emergencies.
301512
garlic and horseradish are good for this.  That is why they also come in a vitamin tablet usually combined with vitamin C and echinacia specifically for U.R.T.H.\n\nUpper Respiratory Tract Health\n\n\nGood luck\n\nJimmy
546664
Did you let your doctor know that you still have the cough? If you doctor is not addressing this than you need to see a different doctor. Your cough could be due to allergies, asthma, post nasal drip, etc...  You could try Claritin and Mucinex, which is over-the-counter medicine. These may help if the cough is due to allergies. Let your doctor know that the cough is not any better and if he can't help you find another one ASAP.
1161811
A person with a lung disease or condition go to them for help. My  primary care doc did not know how to handle my asthma it was so out of control. He sent me to a pulmonolgist. I had a work up of tests I was taken off most of my medications and switched to new ones. The new meds were tweaked over several visits. They are very helpful.
75802
robitussin cough syrup works great.  But if you have a cough that is worse at night and will not go away, along with wheezing, it could be asthma and you should get checked out by a doctor.
1079771
I have had asthma for over 20 years I stopped taking the meds a few years after getting asthma. I drink lots of coffee.  Coffee works so good to stop the wheezing.  I told my doctor many years ago and he said it was fine and I didn't have to take the meds.
347659
You won't like this but if your so congested and cannot breath the best thing I've ever done was take ephedrine.  Mini-thin's is my preference.  It's the only thing that honestly clears you up and let's you have a good day.  Don't take 2, Don't take if you have heart conditions or blood pressure problems, and stop taking them immidiately when you feel better.  It's the best treatment!  It's one of those chinese remedies.
209687
Here's a site from the American Lung Association. I treat asthma patients in the ER all the time. You need to educate yourself about asthma, and do what is necessary to prevent the asthma attacks from occurring, rather than try to treat them afterwards. There are alot of other websites relating to asthma, but this is a good place to start. Good Luck!