This conundrum is making me batty.....does anyone have a reliable way of knowing when the bloomin inhaler is nearly empty?......without tallying every time you use it??
And why, does anyone know, does clenil sometimes come with a counter and sometimes not......and ventolin never does?????😩
At the moment, I'm stuck with a clenil with no counter🤷♀️🤷♀️ so I've had to work it out and put the date in my calendar when I should start a new one.....and I'm physically writing a tally on the ventolin box......because I suspect, when I was feeling really rough a few days ago, it was because the blessed thing was empty......and being the fluffle headed dunce that I was....it took me three days to work it out!🤦♀️🤦♀️.........I've decided having asthma is far too time consuming, I'd like a restart please!🤣🤣🤣🤣
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Cakerunner
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Hahahaha yes I'd like a restart too! Actually, can I give it back?!
I have a similar issue with my turbohalers. Symbicort has a counter, Pulmicort and Bricanyl don't. They do, at least, have a red zone of 20 doses left - but no way would I just wait til then to order in case it took longer.
I guess regular ones are easier as it's a set amount of time for it so your calendar marking sounds good. Noting somewhere ventolin doses is probably the only way but maybe someone does have a magical solution!
I tried logging my usage... ended up with several bits of paper with little gates all around the house, which then turned into little gates with dates. The next problem arises when you accidentally bring in the spare Ventolin inhaler you keep in the car.
Hi Sonia. I find it annoying that the rescue inhalers don’t have counters on them in this country. I have had occasions where I have thought it wasn’t working only to find it was running out. Apparently the last few doses are propellant.
I bought a knitting counter thing- ma-jig. You press the button and it keeps a tally. It has a band around it, so I could attach it to my inhaler.
It would have worked fine if I had remembered to press it each time I took a dose.
If you're taking inhalers as a daily dose it's easy to make a note on your smart phone as to when you can order a new one and when it will run out. As for reliever inhalers that are taken ad hoc, if they are wet inhalers the weight decreases and when shaken sound less full as they empty. If you can, order two at a time and reorder as the first becomes empty.
It's ages since I had wet inhalers and always feared running out and not have access to my reliever. Now I'm on dry powder and they all have counters on them.
From memory, no aerosol canister inhaler has a counter due to their design.
Been there too. The asthma nurse even asked me once how much I had left and I blurted out how the hell should I know? Haha. It's time they thought up a better design, and the wastage is appalling. Why not just supply the tank instead of the plastic mouthpiece everytime?
Best thing to do is always have a spare, and compare the spray when one gets low.
Yes, I agree, they probably haven't thought about the design in quite a while.....I do have dates in the house, it's just I don't like throwing them away until they're definitely empty!😆🤦♀️
Yes we're supposed to be cutting down on plastic products, it's unnecessary to replace the mouthpiece everytime.
I know what you mean, I turn my Gaviscon bottles upside down to get the last drops out to save the NHS some money, but it's not worth risking an asthma attack Sonia.
The postcode lottery eh? It may be that I have Barrett's or that I'm a prolific complainer haha. I reckon the reflux caused the asthma in the first place, try that argument with your Trust.
Your asthma symptoms may get worse due to stomach acid irritating your airways. People with asthma have a higher risk of developing other health conditions too. Indigestion. Gastro-oesophageal reflux. Heartburn. GERD. Types: Heartburn, Acid Reflux.
Yes definitely a link. I didn't develop asthma until 2010 after years of waking up coughing the acid out of my airways. Still get the cough sometimes now if I've eaten too late at night.
While on a First Aid Course I was told by the teacher that if you put your inhaler in a bowl of water if it floats it empty, sinks it’s full basically.
This is what my sons asthma nurse advises us to do with his ventolin, I’d put into water vertically however much sinks below the water is how much is left.
You can tell when you shake ventolin inhaler roughly how much is left but as it gets very low it is difficult as some of it is the propellant. I therefore stop using mine when it feels not much left in just to be on safe sjde. Luckily my other inhalers spiriva and seretide have counters.
Hi I've never had a counter but one shake them next to your ear the longer it takes to hit the other side the less there is in the inhaler, two the weight as it gets emptied it gets lighter and 3 but this can also happen with a blocked mouthpiece so clean your mouthpiece and dry it to make sure it's not blocking the spray as the force of the spray when you press it is another sign the less there is the weaker the spray comes out. I normally make sure I have back ups and spears as I always run out at night and weekends but always at night I don't need to order every month so I order for a few months until I get a few spear's then I don't order until I have just one spear left. When I have seen the asthma nurse thay ask me and show me during my last visit I asked her what to do if cleaning the mouthpiece didn't work and the inhaler was about half full but not spraying like its empty she checked the above 2 steps and said if it's not empty and not blocked take it to the chemist you got it from as it's faulty and thay should give you a new one.
Oh, it's easy enough to get a spare. I generally manage to lose an inhaler several times a year... but spears are a totally different proposition (that's what the lame joke was about... naughty corked can be a nuisance).
For a daily inhaler with no counter like clenil or serevent I used to write the date started on a small piece of paper and sellotape it onto the plastic casing of the inhaler. They invariably last for one month , so easy to check. I am now on Fostair as a daily inhaler which do have a counter.
I have been on Ventolin for decades and they never give the full dose when they are about a quarter full. So, I end up double dosing. I sometimes put the almost used one in a spacer to get more of a dose. Sometimes I just recycle them.
Thanks davidcantswim.....and everyone else who replied!
It appears we all have slightly different ways of checking whether ir not the dratted inhaler has any left.........some easier than others 😁 however, as I thought, there is no actually accurate way to know, so I will continue trying to remember to tally......and always making sure there is at least one new spare one in the house.............and, I may have to try and invent a new counter method!!🤣🤣🤣 no idea how at the moment.........but in the 21st century, we can apparently 3d print a car........but we don't have a reliable way to know if we have life saving medication in an inhaler or nor?🤔🤔 ......is that the sound of a gauntlet being thrown down???🤔😒😆😆
I've always had QVar which never had a counter but have just started being prescribed Clenil which does. However, I don't pay any attention to it as I haven't had a counter for 16 years. I always have at least two standby inhalers in a drawer and when the one I'm using runs out I just use a new one and get a repeat prescription.
Luckily I never need to use a rescue inhaler unless I am having a rare attack (last one Boxing Day 2018, fingers crossed) but I suppose the solution without a counter is to carry two. I have rescue inhalers strategically placed just in case, including in the car. I check them regularly for expiry dates and 'shake weight'.
I think it is daft that the pharmaceutical companies aren't asked to provide a counter on each inhaler - it would make such a difference to all of us. We'd know when we need to get another and if we've had a good spell, we'd know what's left in the ventolin (or similar). When you're having a bad time, the last thing you need is to be counting the puffs. Extra, uneeded stress.
Exactly my point.....I'm feeling the stress of 'how many puffs left?'......nearly every day...especially if it's a 'not so good day'....that's why I decided to ask if any of you guys had a better idea 😊
I order well before they run out and when I am well still order the odd 2 just in case. Keep one in the car because there's nothing worse than getting somewhere and panicking because you've forgotten to bring one . I always have one in my bag but mistakes have happened.
My asthma nurse told me to put the ventolin in a bowl of water think the way it floats says how much in, sorry not very specific or much help ha! It is annoying no counter!
Well now.....being me, I have messaged GSK who manufacture some of the inhalers....and strenuously suggested they start manufacturing them with reusable mouthpieces, that can be washed and have a resettable counter....so we could just all order refills when needed....and just receive the cannisters...unless you request a new mouthpiece!!!😁😁 you never know!!
Good for you! I’m impressed. We need the equivalent of a petition to Parliament. There are so many of us with asthma struggling with this issue which is a matter of life and death as well as wasteful but the strength of our combined voice isn’t heard. This is crying out for a campaign!
what I do is I weigh the canister. When it’s less than 10g I consider it empty! I searched the web for that info a little while ago cause I couldn’t keep up with counting the puffs. The canister weighs a little less than 16g when full.
After complaining to the asthma nurse at my GP practice about the lack of a counter on the blue inhaler, she prescribed the Easyhaler Salbutamol sulfate which, thank goodness, does have a counter on it. That is of course my rescue inhaler. My preventer is Fostair which has an easy to read counter on it too. Try requesting the Easyhaler in future. Hope that helps.
Ah....see I haven't ever seen the nurse face to face about my asthma.....this has all happened to me during lockdown...I will sleep though, that would be very helpful, thank you😊
Wow! 😳 I get my from my doctors pharmacy. It’s pre packed in the bags at least 2 days before collection and stored at room temp, no doctor or asthma nurse has told me this over several years, and no label/sticker on box or bag to tell you! 🤯. Thanks for letting me know, I’ll have a look into this 😁
I've had this issue since being diagnosed with asthma during my toddler years. How many decades later, I nearly collapsed when my pulmicort, my trusted buddy, was swapped recently for Fostair that had.... Wait for it... some sort of device that counted how many puffs I had administered. I was elated beyond belief. It felt as though I was driving a brand new car. Alas, my salbutamol doesn't have one. So, I check the old fashioned way, I shake it whilst placing it next to my ear (to date, I don't know why I do this because I can't hear anything. Probably out of habit 😂) in order to guess / estimate how much is left. When it feels, half way-ish, I order a repeat.
I'm aware this is not the best method and to be honest, I wouldn't recommend it because there have been quite a few occasions where I have been caught dangerously short due to forgetting my archaic method.
It's a tough one to answer but excellent question.
Haha no worries, it comes as a shock when the professionals are wrong, unfortunately it happens too often! I doubt it would effect their quality anyway, and at least you’d remember where they were, and know that you had 1 left! 😊
I have just come off Ventolin inhalers which I have been using for about five decades! Besides no counter what I find could be improved is the fact that the dose gets lower as the inhaler empties. Of that I am positive. I ended up taking two doses one after the other.
Ventolin inhalers do the trick but I asked my Asthma consultant if I could try Easyhaler which does have a counter. I find that it is very good and forces me to sit up properly with a straight back and inhale a full dose. It works as I can't lay in bed and have a blast or two whilst reading and in a bad position,
Now? I'm bolt upright and don't use as much.
psttttt: I do have a few secret Ventolin Inhalers tucked away
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