Question: My daughter is 9 years old.she cough more than 4 months and currently she is taking seretide. Is this medicine any side effect? (Michelle)
Answer: Seretide is an inhaler consisting of steroids and long acting bronchodilator(medicine to open up the airways). With this use, the cough should be improving and if it is not, your doctor shold review this treatment. Seretide is not meant for long term use and should be downgraded to lower steroids or no steroids when her symptoms improve. Cough is a common feature of asthma, but there are also other cause for cough that should be considered by your doctor. Long term overdose use of steroids may cause side effects such as growth retardation, but if used within the normal limits and judiciously, the benefit of a good asthma control outweigh the side effects. If you have many doubts about Seretide, please discuss with your doctor for other options. Asthma treatment should follow a stepwise approach, in which when control of asthma is better, the strength of medicine should be reduced and eventually removed.