Managing asthma can be done either naturally, with a drug therapy, or with a bit of both. There is no right or wrong way in managing asthma, you need to determine what is right for you at the time.

The Buteyko Method does not involve throwing away medications, but instead the person with asthma who is using the method, continues to use as much support medication is necessary until it is no longer required. Any reductions in preventive medications are only to be reduced after consultation with your prescribing practitioner, and changes to your prescription.

“While my progress is not final and I still have some problems.  The general direction of my recovery is very clear.  I have been free of Ventolin for three months and, with my doctor’s approval am reducing the steroid preventer.  I am enormously grateful to you for literally giving me back my life!  I will now do my best to encourage everyone who needs it to give Buteyko a ‘go’”.  Susan

Bronchodilator Usage

Current asthma management guidelines throughout the world include the concept that drugs such as Ventolin or Bricanyl, which make it easier to breathe by relasing the smooth muscles wrapping around the airways, and so opening them up, should only be used on an "as required" basis, rather than habitually.
This is because these medications do not prevent asthma, but simply relieve the symptoms, and so if you are not experiencing symptoms then you do not take this medication.
Should you need to take these types of medications more than two or three times a week because you have the symptoms of asthma,  then it is also current asthma management guidelines to take an inhaled steroid, such as Pulmicort or Flixotide.

Preventer medication

After taking your inhaled steroid, it is strongly recommended that you rinse your mouth, gargle, and spit out the water. Note: Do not swallow it. By rinsing the mouth and throat, you are eliminating the excess steroid medication that may encourage the growth of oral thrush.
The side effects of inhaled steroids can be annoying but it is not recommended that you simply stop taking them because it is possible to develop a dependency on them, and cutting them out without consultation with your medical doctor can lead to severe illness and even death.

Combination medications

Because of the side effects that steroids are famous for, many people with asthma are not keen to use these drugs. However the over use of the bronchodilator types have been shown for at least forty years, to rapidly worsen the asthmatic condition. To prevent people from taking too much bronchodilator and insufficient steroid, sometimes these medications are combined into one dispenser. This means that it is not possible to take one without the other. The names of these medications include Seretide, Advair, Oxis, and Oxese.
Because of the steroid component in these drugs, again it is not recommended that they simply be stopped. Reduction of these drugs should only be done under the guidance of a medical doctor.