Asthma treatment often costs thousands of dollars a year - more than many patients can afford. With brand-name controller drugs costing $200 per month, what's a person to do?

Here are 8 tips for effective yet affordable treatment. Let's begin with a story.

My sister, an asthma sufferer, once got a guinea pig for her son.

Loving mother that she is, she didn't complain when, days later, she found she couldn't breathe. Nor did she grumble when her medications stopped working. Nor did she fuss when her doctor put her on steroids and she gained thirty pounds.

Gasping and groaning, she did what mothers do, and cared for the guinea pig, day in and day out.

At Christmas she came for a visit. "Isn't there anything to make my asthma better?" she implored.

"Get rid of the guinea pig," I replied.

She looked at me as if I'd killed her firstborn. But six months later she put the guinea pig outside and - voila! - her asthma improved.

Yes, she learned a lesson - two in fact. Don't put the guinea pig on the deck in July...

That's #1. Substitute cat, dog, horse, rat, camel, etc. for guinea pig.

#2. Check online for coupons. You're already online anyway. Zip on over to the we site for Proventil HFA, Ventolin HFA, Advair, Symbicort, or Singulair for hundreds of dollars in free samples and savings on refills

#3. Consider Ventolin ReliOn. If you're paying full price for your albuterol, ask your doctor for this $9, 60-dose brand-name albuterol inhaler instead. True, it will take three of these to equal one standard albuterol inhaler, but still that's only $27, half the price of a full-sized inhaler. Even insured patients may find this a savings - easily hundreds of dollars a year. It is currently only available through Wal-Mart and Target pharmacies.

#4. Patient Assistance Programs. If you're uninsured, and make under $45,000 for a single person, or under $90,000 for a family of four, check out the Together Rx Acess program online. Asthma medications covered under this program include Advair, Azmacort, Serevent, and Flovent, for free or reduced cost, with potential savings of hundreds of dollars a year.

#5. Ask for medications on the $4 list. These include albuterol syrup, tablets, and nebulizer solution; ipratropium nebulizer solution, oral corticosteroids, and antibiotics. Discount chain pharmacies offer a long list of generic medications for only $4 a month, or $10 for three months. These could save you hundreds of dollars a year over name-brand drugs.

#6. Consider theophylline. Before inhaled steroids, before Singulair, before ipratropium, there was theophylline, the mainstay of asthma therapy. This medication is still available, is quite inexpensive, and is effective for many patients. There are drawbacks - drug interactions, need for periodic blood monitoring, jitteriness and nausea in some patients, concerns with overdose - BUT for patients on a budget it is a consideration, and can save hundreds of dollars a year over newer therapies.

#7. Have your doctor prescribe a nebulizer. Why would you spend $100 when you want to save money? Because the medication used in a nebulizer is so cheap. Both albuterol and ipratropium nebulizer solutions are on the $4 list, cheaper than hand-held metered-dose inhalers. Your doctor may not be aware of this, so be sure to bring it up. Substituting home nebulizer treatments for some doses of an inhaler may save you hundreds of dollars annually. You will still want to keep a rescue inhaler handy, however, for when you are not near your nebulizer.

#8. Stop at Starbucks. Drink a cup of coffee - not decaf. Caffeine is one of the metabolites of theophylline (#6 above), and has similar, though weaker, bronchodilator action. Caffeinated tea works as well. Many a time a midnight asthma attack has been ameliorated with a little java. This does not mean you shouldn't have a rescue inhaler on hand. But if you're stuck overnight in an airport and don't have one with you, load up on caffeine. Save hundreds of dollars a year by stopping at McDonald's for coffee instead.

No one should have to choose between their next meal or their next breath. Use these ideas to afford medication to keep your asthma symptoms under control. Why not take this article with you to your next doctor appointment? Your physician will want to help you along the path to excellent yet affordable health care.

Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, M.D.

Have you ever wondered why dust mites can cause so many issues? Well the first problem with dust mites is that they are so small you can barley see them, so you may not even know you have them, and they are everywhere. You may only know that your child is having more frequent asthma attacks but not know why. One thing is that most of the dust in your house is made up of shed human skin. The food, that dust mites like the best.

They consume skin and other minute particles of organic matter as a way of life, and the do it very well. Like many decomposer animals, they select food that has been pre-decomposed by fungi. Fungus and mold can also be a problem for your child with asthma. The dust mites have a simple gut; they have no stomach but rather diverticulae, which are sacs or pouches that divert out of hollow organs. These pouches are filled with enzymes that are used to digest the organic material.

A mated female house dust mite can live for about seventy days and can lay from sixty to one hundred eggs in the last five weeks of her live. In that span of ten weeks, the dust mites can product approximately two thousand fecal particle pouches or sacs and an even larger number of partially digested enzyme covered dust particles. It is the enzymes that are attached to the dust particles that cause the problems for children with asthma. When the child jumping on the bed disturbs the dust particles. The dust flies into the air where the enzyme covered particles can be inhaled. The enzymes are what your child is allergic to. The enzymes get into the airways and can irritate them causing them to constrict.

You can see just how quickly mites can develop into a very big problem for children with asthma. There are several things you can do to combat dust mites. One thing you can do is cover the bed of your child with plastic or other dust mite free material. These types of covers can be found at your local furniture store or at a home improvement outlet. Next you will want to wash all of the bedding in hot water, at least one hundred forty degrees or hotter. that is the temperature that is required to kill the dust mites and there eggs. When you dry the bedding, it also needs to on the hottest setting. With the combination of the two procedures you can kill the dust mites in the bedding.

If the child has any stuffed animals they also need to be made dust mite free. You can do one of three things with the toys. The first thing you can do is wash them like you did with the bedding. The second thing to do is find a plastic bag that will fit the toy, wrap it up air tight and place it in the freezer for a least twenty four hours. This will also kill the dust mites and their eggs. The third thing is just plane and simply get rid of all plush stuffed animals. Not having them around is the best way to insure that they will not be a problem for your child with asthma.