Asthma Inhalers

What is a metered-dose inhaler?

For taking a specific amount of medication in order to treat asthma, an inhaler is used. This is also known as metered dose inhaler.

The medication is passed to the lung with the use of an inhaler. Besides asthma an inhaler is also of great use in diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory problems.

An inhaler is a can with a mouth piece to facilitate the patient to intake the medication filled in the can. This is used by an asthmatic person to get the relief from the asthmatic symptoms.

What the user does is that he presses the inhaler down allowing a mist of medicine to come out which is taken into the lung through mouthpiece.

It gives a great relief to narrowed airways and let the user breath easily during a mild attack of asthma. However, a patient must know how to use an inhaler correctly.

How to use an inhaler correctly?

Remove the cap and hold the inhaler upright. 1. Shake the inhaler.
2. Tilt your head back slightly and breathe out.
3. Hold the inhaler as in one of the pictures to the right. A or B are the most effective, but C is okay for people who are unable to use A or B.
4. Spacers are useful for all patients, especially young children and older adults (see picture B).
5. Press down on the inhaler to release the medicine as you start to breathe in slowly.
6. Breathe in slowly for 3 to 5 seconds.
7. Hold your breath for 10 seconds to allow medicine to go deeply into your lungs.
8. Repeat puffs as directed. Wait 1 minute between puffs to allow the second puff to get into the lungs better.
you must consult your doctor if have any problem in using the inhaler.

How to keep track of medicine used?

Keeping track of the amount of medicines you have used helps you a lot in deciding the time for getting a new inhaler. You can buy another inhaler before the previous one gets finished. Writing the refill date on the canister itself is also a good idea.
You can use the following methods to ascertain the refilling of your inhaler:
1. A very easy method is to work out the number of days by dividing the number of puffs printed on the canister by number of puffs you intake. This will a very explicit idea when to replace your inhaler with a brand new one.
2. Use a calender to observe the number of days left to replace your inhaler. This way you will not run short of the medicine at a critical time. Buying 1 o 2 days before the marked date on the calender will give scope to any hassle whatsoever.
3. As stated above, writing the refill date on the canister itself works well.