rescue medication
Acute symptom reliever
Rescue medication is a drug taken as needed to relieve acute symptoms rather than as part of a regular treatment schedule.
The term appears most often in contexts involving asthma inhalers, migraine treatments, and anxiety medications: She keeps rescue medication in her purse in case of a panic attack.
Contrasts with maintenance medication, which is taken on a fixed schedule to prevent symptoms.
- emergencySerious sudden danger
- emergency roomHospital crisis department
- inhalerPortable respiratory medication device
- asthmaChronic lung inflammation
- reliefEasing of distress
breakthrough · as needed · epinephrine · nitroglycerine · migraine · chest pain · attack · allergic reaction · epi pen · dose · fast-acting · panic · pain · urgent · sublingual · spray · pill · pocket
- Epilepsyseizure, seizures, epilepsy, AED, convulsion
- experimental drugs
rescue, medication, rescued, rescuer, rescuing, rescues, medicate, medicated, medicating