Inhalers ‘could make child’s asthma worse’

CHILDREN with asthma may be using medicines that do not work, and in some cases could increase their suffering, a new study has shown.

The inhaler, often the first line of treatment in asthma, could be less effective or may even make the condition worse for some children carrying a particular gene, according to research at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Its chairman of paediatrics, Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay, said: ‘Both asthma reliever and controller medicines may not work well in a proportion of children.

‘A simple test can identify those who might benefit from a switch to an alternative, more effective medicine.’