LABAs should not be the first medicine used to treat asthma and should be added to asthma treatment only if other medicines do not control asthma, the FDA cautions.

The FDA says these medicines -- Serevent Diskus, Advair Diskus and Foradil Aerolizer -- may increase the risk of severe asthmatic episodes and increase the risk of death when the episodes occur.

LABAs help relax the muscles around the airways in the lungs. Even though LABAs decrease the frequency of asthma episodes, they may make asthma episodes more severe when they do occur, the FDA said.

Recommendations for Use

The advisory offers the following recommendations for the use of LABAs in asthma patients:

LABAs should not be the first medicine used to treat asthma and should be added to asthma treatment only if other medicines do not control asthma.

Don't stop using your LABA or any other asthma medicines that have been prescribed for you unless you've talked with your healthcare provider about whether or not to continue treatment.

Don't use your LABA to treat wheezing that's getting worse. Call your healthcare professional immediately if your wheezing becomes worse while using a LABA.

LABAs don't relieve sudden wheezing. Always have a short-acting broncodilator medicine with you to treat sudden wheezing.