Warning from AUK:
If reading this post please do not be tempted to share medication with others or use out of date medication.
Hi there, I have reactions to foodstuffs which affect my breathing badly. The best in hailer for me was the old spincap containing Intal Orange capsules. Does anyone have any lying around that they don’t use? Fisons stopped production around 1999 I think? Don’t worry about the use by date! :0)
Hi I think that Sanofi will start producing the Sodium Cromoglycate capsules again this November. (you will have to check). However there is a liquid Sodium Cromoglycate inhaler available (MDI). (not sure of the brand name). I think though that you should talk to your doctor and get them to prescribe it. If you are getting breathing problems from food allergies, they can get worse and you could go into Anaphylactic shock. So please consult an expert.
R
Agree with Risabel that you need to get it prescribed - taking other people's cast offs is really not advisable anyway but with a history of allergies it's even more of a no - it needs to be something that comes to you through official channels otherwise who knows how old it is or if it might affect you.
Hi Twinkly, thank you so much for getting back on this. My problem has been that as it hasn't been manufactured for years then I can’t be prescribed it! My own doctor has never even heard of it as it was before his time! I’m quite happy to use old stock for my personal use. I have an emergency supply that is running very low, but works a treat when needed. It was out of date in 1999 by the way! They used to make it some five miles from where I live, but that is now a housing estate! Thanks again… G
I understand what you're saying but it's no longer actually prescribed for you and who knows what's changed in its ingredients - after all it's been many years - or rather what's changed in you with your allergies. You might be allergic to it now. Also someone might have one which is out if date or whatever. Whatever you decide to do (however ill advised!) is up to you of course but for the benefit of others reading, taking meds not prescribed to you is not a good idea - even if they were prescribed once.
Hello, you’ve taken me down memory lane here! I had very bad asthma as a child and I was on the orange Intal capsules with the spinhaler device for a lot of years. I’m 56 now and I think it was in the 1990s that my doctor took me off it as it was no longer available. I’ve been on Clenil modulite brown inhaler plus ventolin if needed ever since and it works for me. I remember there were 2 types of Spincaps - the yellow ones which were just sodium cromoglycate (they didn’t work for me) and the orange ones which were Intal Compound and had an additional substance in them. My doctor told me at the time that it was the orange ones that were being withdrawn.
There would be reasons why they were taken out of use and as others have said it would be better for you to take advice from your doctor on an alternative rather than seeking out old supplies.
All the best
Thank you B2B1 and MaggieHP, thanks for your reply and advise. I suppose I’m so keen on the Intal Orange ( yes the yellow didn’t work for me), because when I have a bad reaction ( you know how scary and debilitating that can be), the Intal soothes it immediately. It has literally been a relief in an emergency, that’s why I’ve managed to eek my supply out for so long. I store it in a cool dark place and it has an expiry date of 1994! Nothing else has worked for me like that. I used Ventolin but it makes me very agitated. My regular would be Bricanyl (Turbutaline Sulphate). Maybe different countries have different ‘go to’ inhalers?
To ‘compound’ the issue, Intal Orange was taken as a preventative but always worked for me as a reliever. My food reaction has been diagnosed as ‘Atypical’, which is supposedly genetic, and doesn’t show up now on scratch tests as it did when I was younger. I’m fortunate in that most of the time I’m fine, but when an incident happens like this current one, it takes weeks to pick up again. If you are interested current problem caused by restaurant mistakenly giving me something they shouldn’t. Argh!
Thank you again for your replies, and glad it took you down memory lane!
I used to have the Intal orange capsules. They contained more than sodium cromoglycate though, if my memory serves me correctly, hence the IntalCo label I suppose. It was a combination medication; the other component being isoprenaline. The yellow capsule version contained just the sodium cromoglycate I think, though I could be wrong on that.
I was on IntalCo for around eighteen years and when I was first put on it, aged eight, it really was something of a life changer. I came off it in my mid twenties and was put on a low strength Becotide instead, which never controlled my asthma fully, even when I was put on a much stronger version. It was not until another ten years had passed and I was put on Flixotide that I got back to the point where I felt my asthma was back under control.
I will add that I agree with what others have written above that seeking out old stocks is probably not a good idea. There are many different asthma medications available now. It may take a while to find something that is right for you but I would recommend seeing a doctor and discussing the possible alternatives.
Thank you B2B1 and MaggieHP, thanks for your reply and advise. I suppose I’m so keen on the Intal Orange ( yes the yellow didn’t work for me), because when I have a bad reaction ( you know how scary and debilitating that can be), the Intal soothes it immediately. It has literally been a relief in an emergency, that’s why I’ve managed to eek my supply out for so long. I store it in a cool dark place and it has an expiry date of 1994! Nothing else has worked for me like that. I used Ventolin but it makes me very agitated. My regular would be Bricanyl (Turbutaline Sulphate). Maybe different countries have different ‘go to’ inhalers?
To ‘compound’ the issue, Intal Orange was taken as a preventative but always worked for me as a reliever. My food reaction has been diagnosed as ‘Atypical’, which is supposedly genetic, and doesn’t show up now on scratch tests as it did when I was younger. I’m fortunate in that most of the time I’m fine, but when an incident happens like this current one, it takes weeks to pick up again. If you are interested current problem caused by restaurant mistakenly giving me something they shouldn’t. Argh!
Thank you again for your replies, and glad it took you down memory lane!
IntalCo could be (and was in my case) used as both. I agree that the reliever aspect of it was fantastic (other than the fact that I always got a splitting headache as a result - a known side effect), up to a point. There were occasions when it wasn’t enough and further medical intervention was needed.
I’ve always regretted the fact that the actual spinhaler inhalers are no longer used as a means of delivering medication. I’m not, and never have been, a fan of the evohaler and wish more would be done to either get counting devices fixed to them or come up with a better inhaler design. The ventolin evohaler in particular must be one of the only life saving medications in the U.K. (quite possibly the only one) not to have an easy way of showing how much medication is left. Asthma U.K. take note! This is definitely something that should be campaigned for but I’ve seen no indication that you are doing so.
Hi Gino39
Perhaps give us a ring on the helpline 0300 2225800 M-F 0915-445, we may be able to help
👍
Please do call the AUK nurses. It looks like the reason this inhaler worked so well for you was the reliever component with the isoprenaline, which presumably is what gave you the instant relief - I doubt that Intal by itself would do that, and especially not so quickly. Ventolin (salbutamol) is the most common reliever now, but terbutaline I believe is an option if Ventolin isn't working for you.
Do you have any kind of modern, in-date preventer? Asthma care has moved on since your expired inhaler was prescribed, and I really think that you need an up to date asthma plan with non-expired medications. If you have allergies, that's obviously something that you need to discuss as well and for them to be aware of when they prescribe. However, this needs to be discussed with a professional. AUK nurses can go through how your asthma is and possible treatment options with you, and give you some suggestions to discuss with your GP/asthma nurse.
Agree with Lysistrata and just wanted to add that I have bricanyl/terbutaline as my reliever so it's definitely a thing. Preventer wise, yes you definitely need something so talking to the nurses at Asthma UK would be good I think. There are preventer inhalers that work the same way, in terms of mechanism/device, as Bricanyl which might be worth investigating. Of course the drugs in them are the crucial bit but some people do find they get on better with the turbohaler design and maybe that would be the case for you if Bricanyl works for you.
Thanks. I’ve been in touch with AUK this morning. It’s been helpful to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.
If your asthma is triggered by allergies, I strongly recommend you try allergy shots or drops.
These literally changed my life. I've been on them for two years now (the complete treatment is at least three to five years long), and I haven't needed any medication ever since.
Hope this helps.
Great that you have been in touch Gino, and happy to have helped! Just a quick reminder to all - please never use out of date medication, or anything that has been prescribed for anyone else, it's really not safe to do so. And PLEASE don't ask other people to send you their medication - little wrist slap for you, Gino39
😉 but I know you won't do it again 😀Have a super weekend all
Naomi xx
Ooops! 🙄😊
My GP and local Pharmacy allowed me to use up all their old stock, as so few people in my area were being prescribed Intal any more: the majority had been moved over to (cheaper!) inhaled steroids of one kind or another, in the 'Preventer + Reliever' combo that was the preferred treatment for asthma. They even gave me the last 2 (nasal) 'Insufflators', which I used with the 20mg Intal cartridges. I agree, they never seemed to lose activity with longer-term storage, and that medication had virtually NO side-effects for me. I had to use the Intal aerosol inhaler, when Spincaps were discontinued: there was always a tendency for the inhaler jet to become blocked (so constantly unblocking/washing-out multiple inhaler applicators, and having a cleaned, dry one to swap out). Because my nasal (grass pollen allergy) symptoms were so bad, I used the nose piece of another inhaler (that didn't work for me!) over the Intal mouthpiece, so I treated ALL the symptoms, and didn't have to taste the Intal so much! It was marvellous: I rarely needed my reliever, and only used the Becotide/Beconase inhaler for the worst 2-3 weeks of the hayfever season. Of course I also needed Opticrom/Vividrin eyedrops, which are now available 'over-the-counter', and I still use.
I was horrified, when I went to fill my regular Intal prescription, at the same pharmacy, and was told that it had been discontinued, back in 2021. Luckily, I had 1 and a half Intal inhalers left, so had enough time to do some research on where I could buy inhalable Sodium cromoglicate - Nasal versions were available from USA (as Nasalcrom) - then I looked up portable, battery/USB-operated nebulisers, and ordered them from Amazon.
Inhaling it via nebuliser takes a lot longer (2-5 minutes), but IT WORKS, for me! However, it is also expensive, in delivery charges, unless you know someone in America who can collect it for you, and bring a couple of years' supply to the UK with them.🤞
Sodium cromoglycate inhaler (Intal)
Intal/Tilade - Medication for exercise induced asthma
Intal (sodium cromoglate) Inhaler 
Help/advice for my 4yo please!! 
