Inhalers do little for young kids
Using inhaled steroids to treat asthma in young children does not alter the course of the disease and should not be used for that purpose, according to two studies in the May 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Inhaled steroids such as Pulmicort and Flovent reduce swelling and inflammation in the airways and help control the wheezing and breathlessness associated with asthma, which affects nearly 9 million children in the United States.
Some doctors have been prescribing them to very young children considered at risk of developing asthma in the hope of preventing the disease from developing. But concerns about inhaled steroids emerged after studies found that the drugs slowed physical growth.
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