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Wednesday, December, 02, 2009
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Advair Medicine Affect Growth

Asthmatic
09/22/09

Does taking Advair affect growth at all? Have there been any studies or experiments with this medicine and if it affects/stunts growth in humans?

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Answers (1)
Rick Frea
Rick Frea
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Rick Frea is doing excellent
A Registered Respiratory Therapist and asthmatic

Rick Frea (RRT) is a licensed and Registered Respiratory Therapist...

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Yes, there have been lots of studies on this.  I think the general consensus is that systemic steroids can stunt the growth of asthmatics but only by a miniscule amount, like about 1 cm. 

 

Inhaled steroids like Advair, Symbicort, Flovent, Beclovent, Vanceril, Azmacort, Aerobid, Pulmicort, etc, are inhaled directly to the lungs where they are needed, and this reduces systemic effects.  Studies show the only chance of side effects (like stunted growth) come from the medicine particles left in your mouth after each use that are absorbed into your blood stream.  That in mind, studies show if you rinse your mouth out after use the side effects of these medicines should be close to zero.

As far as Advair is concerned, if you use the typical Advair doses of 150/50 or 250/50 studies show you should have no systemic side effects if you rinse after each use.  However, some studies show that if you require the 500/50 dose there is an increased risk of systemic side effects.  Thankfully, it is very rare for an asthmatic to require this high a dose.

 

For more information on your question check out this q&a session here and this post I wrote here

 

Overall, you should feel very safe using Advair.  It is a great medicine for controlling asthma.  And most asthma experts contend (as do the asthma guidelines which I highly recommend all asthmatics read) that the benefits of medicines like Advair far outweigh the risks. 

 

If you have further questions after reading the links above please feel free to ask.

 

 

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