If you have asthma, a healthcare provider may prescribe Dulera. This medication is specifically designed to control asthma symptoms and prevent them from occurring; it is not used to treat symptoms after an asthma attack has started. It comes in the form of an inhaler and is typically used twice daily. Possible side effects may include headaches and inflammation of the nose, throat, or sinuses.
What Is Dulera?Dulera® (mometasone/formoterol) is a prescription medication licensed to treat asthma. It is used to control asthma and prevent asthma symptoms from occurring.
Who Makes This Medication?This medication is made by 3M Health Care, Ltd., for Schering Corporation.
How Does Dulera Work?Normally, air moves into and out of the lungs easily through a network of airways. When you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed or swollen. This inflammation makes the airways sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating (see Asthma Triggers).
When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten, inflammation inside the airways increases, and cells inside them produce more mucus. As a result, the airways become narrow, making it difficult to breathe.
Dulera is an asthma medication that contains a combination of two other asthma medications:
- Mometasone (Asmanex®) -- an inhaled corticosteroid
- Formoterol fumarate (Foradil®) -- a long-acting, beta-adrenergic agonist.
Inhaled corticosteroids, sometimes called steroids for short, reduce the inflammation in the lungs that lead to asthma symptoms, such as wheezing and shortness of breath.
Beta-adrenergic agonists, or beta agonists for short, relax the muscles around the airways, opening the airways up and allowing air to get into and through the lungs more easily. Because Dulera contains a long-acting beta agonist, it does not work quickly. Therefore, it is used to control asthma symptoms, not to treat asthma attacks once they start.