Why do you need to take a bronchodilator before a steroid inhaler?

Question

Why do you need to take a bronchodilator before a steroid inhaler?

Answer 1

Steroid inhalers are stabilizers. They need to be taken routinely, and they work after several weeks' use. Bronchodilators are not a long-term solution for asthma, and indeed the long-acting bronchodilators are associated with a slightly increased risk of minor side-effects like death. But when you're wheezing and short of breath, they work, and they work right now. People with great lungs can hold their breath for a couple of minutes. A couple of weeks is a bit too long, so people having an asthma attack certainly don't want to wait that long for the steroid inhaler to "kick in."