Advair® (fluticasone and salmeterol) is a prescription medication used to treat airway spasms (called bronchospasms) caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to prevent these spasms from occurring in people with asthma. Advair comes in two forms, the Advair Diskus® and the Advair® HFA inhaler. The Advair Diskus is approved for both asthma and COPD, while the Advair HFA inhaler is approved only for asthma.
Advair contains two different medications -- fluticasone and salmeterol. Salmeterol is part of a class of drugs called beta-adrenergic receptor agonists, or beta agonists for short. Beta agonists stimulate beta receptors in the body, including those on the muscles around the airways. This stimulation causes the muscles to relax, which opens up the airways and allows more air to get into and through the lungs.
The other component of Advair is fluticasone, an asthma medication that belongs to a group of drugs called inhaled corticosteroids, or steroids for short. Inhaled steroids go directly into the lungs and help to decrease the inflammation of airways that makes asthma attacks more likely.
Does Advair Cause Weight Gain?
Weight gain may be a possible side effect of Advair® (fluticasone and salmeterol). In clinical trials conducted before Advair was approved, weight gain was not reported as one of the possible Advair side effects. However, since Advair has been available to the general public, healthcare providers or patients have reported cases of weight gain that were possibly due to Advair. Because not everyone who experiences weight gain while taking Advair reports this as a possible side effect to the manufacturer, it is impossible to estimate exactly how commonly (or rarely) weight gain occurs with Advair.
