Inhalers are small, handheld devices that let you take medicine straight to your lungs by breathing it in through your mouth. The inhalers can be either measured amount, dry powder, or soft mist. Most of the time, they are used to treat asthma and COPD, but doctors may also give them to people with other problems. Common medicines that are breathed in are bronchodilators and antibiotics.
What Makes A Puffer Different From A Nebuliser?
Both inhalers and nebulisers can be used to give medicines to the lungs. But a puffer is something you can hold in your hand and doesn’t need power. Most of the time, it sends out a dry powder or a spray of medicine, but some send out a fine mist of liquid medicine.
Nebulisers are bigger and can be used with a battery or a cord. You put them on while wearing a mask or mouthpiece. Nebulisers don’t give the medicine all at once. Instead, the medicine is given over a few minutes.
Who Does A Puffer Help?
Most of the time, inhalers are used by people with long-term lung diseases that make it hard to breathe, like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). You use daily inhalers to avoid or control your symptoms, and you use fast-acting inhalers (called “rescue inhalers”) when you have an asthma attack or COPD crisis, which is when your breathing gets worse.
Can People Who Don’t Have Asthma Still Use An Inhaler?
Yes, doctors do give out rescue inhalers and oral medicines for diseases other than asthma that affect the lungs. Like any other medicine, you should only use a puffer if your doctor tells you to.
What Are Inhalers Used To Treat?
Most of the time, asthma and COPD are treated with inhaled medicines. Providers sometimes give them to treat lung diseases like asthma. They are also used by providers to treat:
Diabetes
Flu
Parkinson’s
Schizophrenia
For Asthma, What Kinds Of Inhalers Are Used?
Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are often given to avoid asthma symptoms, along with an emergency inhaler for fast relief during an attack. If ICS medicines don’t help you control your asthma, your doctor may add a long-acting inhaler, like a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) or a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA).
What Kinds Of Inhalers Are There?
Pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs), dry powder inhalers (DPIs), and soft mist inhalers are all types of inhaler devices.
Inhalers With Dose Counters
Metered dose inhalers (MDIs or pMDIs), which are also called “puffers,” have a pressurized tube that holds the medicine. The bottle sits in a case with an opening that can be held in one hand. When you press on the canister, a propellant (something that helps the medicine move out of the container) makes a puff of medicine come out of the opening. To get the medicine into your lungs, you follow the advice and take the puff in through your mouth. MDIs give out one dose at a time from a container that can hold more than one dose.
Those That Use Dry Powder
Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) store powdered medicine in tablets or other containers that you open when you’re ready to use the inhaler. An oxidizer doesn’t force the medicine out of a DPI like it does with an MDI. Instead, you take a big breath quickly to pull the powder into your lungs.
Most DPIs are in the shape of a tube or a disc and have an opening. Some have a place where they can bring in drugs. How to turn them on and use them is different for different styles and brands.
What Kinds Of Medicines Are In Inhalers?
Types of medications in inhalers for respiratory conditions include those that provide quick relief during an exacerbation or an attack, and those that you take regularly to manage symptoms or prevent attacks. These include short-acting bronchodilators, long-acting bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids.
Inhaled Corticosteroids
Inhaled corticosteroids that you breathe in (ICS) help lower congestion in your lungs. You use them every day to keep asthma from getting worse. Providers sometimes also give them to people with COPD or other lung problems. They normally come in an inhaler that uses dry powder.
Short-acting Bronchodilators
These are inhalers that help you breathe better when you’re having trouble breathing very badly because of asthma or COPD. People also call them “rescue inhalers.” They help you breathe again quickly, but only for a few hours, so they aren’t good for long-term treatment.
Short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs) and short-acting muscarinic antagonists (SAMAs or anticholinergics) are two types of bronchodilators found in relief inhalers. They both work by making your lungs less tight. They work for four to six hours and come in a nebuliser or a metered-dose vaporiser.
Long-lasting Bronchodilators
Most people with COPD treat their symptoms with bronchodilators that work for a long time. In addition to breathing corticosteroids, providers may also give long-acting bronchodilators to help asthma.
Depending on the medicine, long-acting bronchodilators can help you breathe better for 12 to 24 hours. They come in an inhaler with a dry powder or a soft mist. You take them every day to lower the chance that your symptoms will get worse and you’ll need an emergency inhaler. They include long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) and long-acting muscarinic inhibitors (LAMAs or anticholinergics). Like short-acting bronchodilators, they work by making your lung muscles relax.
Mixtures Of Medicines
Some inhalers contain two or three different medicines. Some medicines combine two long-acting bronchodilators, while others combine one or two bronchodilators and an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). Albuterol and ipratropium are both bronchodilators that work quickly. Metered-dose, dry powder, or soft mist inhalers can be used to take combination medicines.
Which Puffer Is Given To The Most People?
Albuterol is the most-prescribed drug that you breathe in. Short-acting bronchodilators, also called “rescue inhalers,” are often given to people with COPD and asthma. Short-acting bronchodilators are also sometimes given to people with other lung illnesses, like bronchitis. They help you breathe better quickly if you’re having trouble.
How Does A Puffer Work?
Each puffer has its own set of instructions. Make sure you follow the rules for your gadget, and if you don’t know how to use it, ask your provider. Some general instructions are:
1. Open the inhaler by taking off the cap.
2. You may need to prepare a metered-dose inhaler by shaking it and spraying it into the air as advised. Some dry powder inhalers, like Diskus, may need to be loaded with a dose.
3. Let as much air out of your lungs as you possibly can.
4. Breathe in through the inhaler.
5. With a metered-dose inhaler, you need to breathe in slowly through your mouth and press down on the cylinder. This time depends on whether or not you are using a spacer, which is a tube that goes from the mouthpiece to the end of the mouthpiece. When you use a dry powder puffer, you take quick, deep breaths. The medicine comes out of the inhaler when you breathe into it. With a soft mist inhaler, you’ll get a dose as you slowly take a breath in.
6. Don’t breathe for ten seconds so the medicine can get to your lungs.
7. To avoid thrush, rinse your mouth with water and spit after using an ICS inhaler.
Why Would You Want To Use An Inhaler?
One benefit of using a puffer is that it sends the medicine straight to your lungs.
Chronic lung diseases and other illnesses can be treated on a daily basis to ease their effects.
Rescue inhalers can open up your lungs during an asthma attack or other emergency so you can breathe better until your symptoms are under control.
How Dangerous Is It To Use An Inhaler?
Side effects from inhalers depend on the medicine and the disease you’re trying to treat. Some of the dangers are: You shouldn’t use long-acting bronchodilators to help asthma unless you also use an oral corticosteroid. If you only use long-acting bronchodilators, your risk of dying from an asthma-related event goes up.
If you have COPD and use ICS inhalers, you may be more likely to get pneumonia.
Most of the time, using a puffer wrong is what makes it dangerous.
Using Metered-Dose Inhalers (MDIs) Correctly
It’s easy to use MDIs in the wrong way and not even realise it. If you don’t breathe in at the right time when the inhaler is releasing the medicine, not all of it will get to your lungs.
It’s important to carefully follow the directions for how to use your MDI. Ask your service provider to show you. You can also ask if you need a gap. It’s a tube that connects to the mouthpiece and makes it easier to get the right amount of medicine into your lungs at the right time.
How To Use Dry Powder Inhalers (DPIs) Correctly
To pull the medicine out of a DPI, you have to be able to breathe in quickly and deeply. This could mean that some people can’t use DPIs. Ask your doctor or nurse to show you how to use the device they’ve given you. If you’re worried about how well you can use it, talk to them.
How many puffs is too many on an inhaler?
Don’t use your inhaler more than what your doctor tells you to. You can keep track of how many doses you’ve taken with a counter on many inhalers. Talk to your doctor if you’re worried you’re taking too much medicine or if you think you need more medicine than what was given to help you deal with your symptoms.
When Should I Go To See My Doctor?
If you have any questions about how to use your puffer, talk to your doctor or nurse. You should also talk to them if your medicines aren’t helping you breathe well. If your breathing isn’t well-controlled, you might wake up in the middle of the night with asthma symptoms or need your rescue inhaler more than twice a week for no reason.
Conclusion
Inhalers are used to treat a wide range of diseases, but they are most often given to people with breathing problems like asthma and COPD. It can be hard to tell if you’re using your inhaler right and getting the most out of it. Have your source show you how to use your device, and ask any questions you have about how it should be used. Say something if you think an inhaler is too hard to use or isn’t helping you. Your source may be able to suggest other choices.