Can Symbicort 200/6 (2 puffs, 3x per day) cause you to loose your voice?

[Cristina1992]

I wash my mouth out after every use, but im loosing my voice. Very difficult to make my words heard and I wondered if this could be linked? Thank you.

[twinkly29]

It's a possible side effect of all steroid inhalers. Some people find gargling rather than just rinsing helps.

[Poobah]

Looking at this medical review, all inhaled steroids can cause dysphonia (loss of voice), but some are more problematic. However, the review does say more research is needed. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Page 13 states that, "When comparing ICSs at high dosages, budesonide was associated with the greatest risk of dysphonia." On P 12 fluticasone is also highlighted as problematic at a higher rate than others inhaled steroids. It also points to the delivery of inhaled meds, between dry powder & MD inhalers, one being better than the other (p.12). The recommendations are interesting as it suggests that other factors should be considered, including reflux. It also recommends to wash the face in addition to oral hygiene and gargling (that surprised me) after inhalation of meds.

It's not a long read and quite easy compared to other med articles.

I used to be on Symbicort and had voice problems, however, even though I've changed to Fostair, my voice isn't what it was and I no longer sing because of that. At least my speaking voice is better. I changed because of my asthma rather than my voice. There's alot to consider before changing inhalers and something to be discussed with your doctor or asthma nurse if you're thinking about it.

One thing the article doesn't cover is mouth breathing. This is hard on the throat and larynx. Ideally we should inhale through the nose. I practice every day and it certainly helps. Definitely something to consider along with everything else - there's lots on the Internet about mouth breathing and dysphonia.

[Flowergirl78]

Yes it can. When I first went on Fostair I lost my voice, now changing to Symbicort 200/6 I have voice issues and started getting a sore throat. I used to just use water to rinse but now have started using mouthwash to gargle and rinse after. I think its helping better. It could be worth a try? I keep a little travel sized bottle of mouthwash with my nightly meds.

[Cristina1992]

Thank you all so much. I'm going to try gargling mouthwash instead like Flowergirl78 suggests. Thankyou!

[Beepadoodle]

Hi there! I recently (4 weeks) had to stop symbicort for the third time. I’ve been on it off and on for nearly a year, and each time I hit the month mark I would lose my voice. It would start getting raspy and then become increasingly worse, along with difficulty swallowing. This last time was the worst, and I was diagnosed with Inhaled Steroid Laryngitis. I apologize for not having a link handy, but please do look it up. I always rinsed and gargled, used a spacer, and still had this happen. At this point I am only using my ventolin inhaler as needed (usually twice a day). My voice is about 90% better now. I’m hoping it comes back completely.

[Cristina1992]

Hey all, just an update. I now use mouth wash after I take my symbicort 200/6 inhaler and its made a huge difference. Really helpful advise 😊 thank you all!

[Poobah in reply to Cristina1992]

Excellent! 😁