Chronic asthma management

A 35-year-old woman with a history of atopic dermatitis presents with asthma symptoms that occur more than twice a week but less than once a day. She does not have nightly symptoms. According to the stepwise approach for managing chronic asthma, which medication should be initiated first?

1: Oral leukotriene receptor antagonist
2: Low dose inhaled corticosteroid
3: Inhaled short-acting beta-agonist
4: Combination inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta-agonist