Airway Clearance Medications

Definition
Airway clearance medications are prescribed medications that are administered via inhalation to facilitate airway clearance. Types of medications typically used for airway clearance are bronchodilators, steroids, and mucolytics.

• Bronchodilators
• Relax the smooth muscle of the airways.
•  Help the cilia move the secretions by increasing beat frequency. 
• Albuterol and Atrovent are examples. 
• Inhaled steroids
• Reduce the inflammation in the airways to improve the ability of secretions to move up the airway. 
• Pulmicort  and Flovent are  examples.   
• Mucolytics
• Improve airflow and airway clearance by thinning thick secretions. 
• Pulmozyme and Mucomyst are examples.

Children with tracheostomies may be on one or all of these medications, especially with a respiratory infections, or reactive airway disease