A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine has Connecticut doctors worried that asthma patients will toss their inhalers.

Doctors say steroid inhalers have long been prescribed to help patients control the symptoms of asthma. However, until now they say they had been hopeful that inhalers were providing the added benefit of staving off asthma long term. The new study contradicts that, saying steroid inhalers do not help slow the progress of asthma in preschool children.

Asthma experts say inhalers are still the best line of defense and that patients can do permanent damage to their lungs if asthma symptoms are not managed daily. The study did confirm that children who use inhalers for asthma have fewer and less severe symptoms than those who do not use them. Related Information:The New England Journal of Medicine