Prescription drugs can prevent asthma attacks or prevent them from worsening. Apart from spontaneous aid given to the patient when he encounters asthma attacks, prescribed medication is required to control the symptoms from turning to worse. 

Generally common prescribed medications are categorized into quick relief and long term control drugs. Quick relief inhalers or bronchodialators usually contain the drug albuterol with brand names Ventolin and Proventil. Long term control medications include anti-inflammatory corticosteroids and noncorticosteroid medicines. Another long term control medicine pill is theophylline. These medicines should be taken only on the doctor’s prescription as the medicine is decided on the basis of symptoms and the type of asthma.

Three newer oral medications namely zafirlukast (Accolate), montelukast (Singulair) and zileuton (zyflo) also help in controlling asthma attacks and symptoms. Basically following are the main medications that are prescribed by doctors for asthma: inhaled beta-2 agonists, oral short acting beta-2 agonists, inhaled long acting beta-2 agonists, inhaled corticosteroids, inhaled cromones and montelukast.

Asthma medication users are also grouped on the basis of four asthma therapy groups as under, (i) monotherapy using short acting beta-2 agonists which can be oral or inhaled (ii) monotherapy with inhaled corticosteroids (iii) combination therapy of these two medication groups and (iv) all other therapies for asthma.