No matter how you take steroid medicines, the side effects are the same.

The inhaled steroids in asthma medicine go just to the site of the problem—your lungs. This is different than the kind of steroid medicines you inject or take as a pill, which go throughout the body and are riskier.

Taking inhaled steroid medicines will make you grow muscles and hair.

The steroids in asthma medicine are a different type of steroid from the muscle-building, hair-growing kind. And because you inhale the medicine, it goes right to your lungs, where it's needed.

Taking inhaled steroids will stunt your child's growth.

For children, there may be a slight slowing in growth from inhaled steroids. The difference in height is very small, and this side effect is rare. ^{footnote 1, footnote 2} But for most people, this is made up for by the improved ability to breathe because of the positive effects of the medicine.

You can control your asthma using only your quick-relief inhaler.

Many people will only find relief and get good control over their asthma by using daily controller medicine.