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Article: When breathing freely may threaten seeing clearly. (side effects of inhaled steroid usage may cause glaucoma)
- Article from:
- Medical Update
- Article date:
- May 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Asthma sufferers were revitalized when inhaled steroids became available in the early 1990s. Unlike the bronchodilating drugs, which merely relax muscle fibers in the smaller branches of the airways, thus allowing more air to pass through, the steroids get at the heart of the problem--relieving the inflammation caused by infection or allergic reactions that stimulate these muscle fibers to contract.
Before the appearance of steroids that could be inhaled, doctors often had to use the more powerful oral steroids to bring relief to asthmatic patients. With prolonged use, oral steroids have such undesirable side effects as suppression of normal hormone production ...