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Can You Take Diet Pills If You Have Asthma?

Combining over-the-counter medication and supplements with any condition is tricky. When it comes to combining diet pills with a persistent condition such as asthma, it would behoove you to act with caution lest you accidentally exacerbate your symptoms. Fortunately, many of the ingredients present in diet pills will not have an adverse effect on your condition.

  1. Asthma

    • Asthma is a persistent and inflammatory disease that affects the pulmonary system of the body. Asthma is usually a dormant condition that can be triggered by physical exertion or stress, causing the body's airways to become inflamed and constricted. Common symptoms include an inexplicable or disproportionate shortness of breath coupled with coughing or wheezing.

    Asthma Treatments

    • Asthma is typically treated through prescription medication designed to either act in the long term, preventing attacks before they occur, or in the short term, mitigating the severity and duration of existing asthma attacks. Note that while there is no cure for asthma, asthmatics can lead an essentially normal life with use of recommended medication.

    Asthma and Diet Pills

    • While the ingredients in diet pills vary widely, most contain some type of stimulant, whether it is just simple caffeine or something more complex such as ephedrine. Fortunately for asthma sufferers, stimulants such as these actually have a beneficial effect on lung function. According to a study performed at St. George's Hospital Medical School and published in 2001 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, caffeine consumption can improve airway function for up to four hours.

    Considerations

    • Although the stimulants present in diet pills might help your symptoms, that does not account for the remainder of ingredients present in the supplement. To avoid the potential for adverse reaction, always be sure to start with the lowest dose possible, tapering up gradually once you are quite sure that your diet pill of choice is not negatively affecting your asthma.

    Recommendations

    • On balance, however, you might be better off sticking to an U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved diet pill like the over-the-counter medication Alli. Alli works by preventing your body from absorbing dietary fat, causing you to lose weight naturally. Relegating yourself to a proven medication like Alli instead of risking your health on a random diet pill is probably the safest bet for asthma sufferers.

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