Inhalers

Just wanted some advice.

My friend has just recenlty been prescribed beclametasone 50g inhaler and salbutamol, she never carries her salbutamol and then sometimes needs it and doesnt have it. Today she she ran a 5km race and told me she had to use her brown inhaler 6 times and blue inhaler 1 time. I tried to explain to her that she was takiing the wrong inhaler 2 many times am I right. Beclametazone is surely a long acting inahler and not to be taken 6times in the space of 35mins. But then what do I know I am only have severe asthma and have been asthmatic for 9yrs and am on seretide 500.

Just wanted help my friend but she not sem to want to know.

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Heidiho

From one pony lover to another!!

You are right - beclamethosone is a long acting inhaler. Your friend should only be taking it twice a day. She should ALWAYS carry her salbutamol no matter how she feels just incase.

I dont know what to tell you if she wont listen to you - maybe you could introduce her to this site and she may think differently after hearing how most of us suffer with our asthma.

Unfortunatly she may have to learn the hard way!

Take care and good luck!

Kym

[Moose1]

hi heidi, dunno if it would help but maybe order some of the publications for AUK? I'm sure there is something there about explaining which inhalers to take when and why. It might help her to understand if she's gotta written down in front of her?

Good luck with it

Christine

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Hello Heidiho,

You’re right of course and so is Christine and Kym.

Showing your friend the leaflets that go with those inhalers might help re the explanations of how and when to use the inhalers.

What your friend might benefit from more is by going back to her docs and asking for a combination inhaler,- long acting reliever plus corticosteroid - such as seretide or symbicort. These sorts of inhalers should only be used at the same time as the separate sort of cortico’s like beclometasone. Your friend must also continue to use her short acting reliever before exercise and including a long warm up.

As a long time, long distance runner and, after also comparing notes with other similar asthmatic runners, coaches and sports science doctors, most people would agree that continuous use of any sort of inhaler during intense exercise can be dangerous. For example bronchospasms can result from the indiscriminate use of an mdi inhaler during aerobic exercise, resulting in, at the very least, lots of coughing and feeling a need to use the inhaler again, to other, more serious complications.

Try and get your friend to see her doc/asthma nurse, or you could sit down with her and log on to the AUK forum.

Mia

xxx