Bronchodilators help open the airways to make it easier for people with certain lung conditions, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema, to breathe. Bronchodilator medicine, whether inhaled or taken as a pill or capsule, functions by dilating the bronchioles and bronchi, the air passages that can constrict due to respiratory illnesses.
Albuterol and Ipratropium
Doctors may prescribe albuterol as an oral medication--taken by mouth as a pill or liquid or through the use of a nebulizer--to treat asthma and COPD. Nebulizers use electricity to power the conversion of liquid medication into a breathable mist. Most commonly, asthmatics inhale this short-acting medication. According to the Mayo Clinic, physicians may prescribe the pill and liquids forms for reversible obstructive airway disease. Albuterol classifies as an adrenergic bronchodilator of the short-acting variety, and works to give fast relief for asthma attacks by opening up the airways. For more serious levels of asthma and COPD, albuterol may work in combination with ipratropium, another bronchodilator, when breathed through a nebulizer.
Metaproterenol
Asthmatics and COPD sufferers also may use metaproterenol, another short-term adrenergic bronchodilator, for quick relief from breathing constriction attacks. People may use metaproterenol from a rescue inhaler, from a nebulizer, as a pill or as a syrup. The medication does not prevent symptoms of COPD or asthma, but works to relieve symptoms during an attack
Salmeterol
Another inhaled bronchodilator, salmeterol, classifies as a long-acting drug. The purpose of drugs like salmeterol is to help prevent respiratory attacks from occurring, the Mayo Clinic reports. Generally, people take salmeterol via a small, round disk or diskus that contains metered doses of the medication. Doctors may prescribe salmeterol in a combination diskus with fluticasone, a corticosteroid, that works to prevent lung and breathing passage cells from producing substances that initiate asthma attacks.
Formoterol
Formoterol, also a long-acting bronchodilator, can help prevent asthma attacks as well as symptoms of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Inhaled on a regular basis, it works the same way as salmeterol and may be combined with a corticosteroid to help prevent wheezing and shortness of breath.
Theophylline
People who use theophylline must use other forms of medications with it to control lung disease symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. Physicians may prescribe a combination of theophylline and guaifenesin to help reduce shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. Theophylline may be taken as a pill, capsule or liquid.
