Had my yearly asthma check yesterday,was asked by the nurse how often I use my inhaler.I said sometimes twice a day sometimes not at all,if I have a chest infection more.I was then told that I'm using my inhaler all wrong and that one inhaler is to last just over one year and that my asthma is out off crontrol .I have been using the blue ventolin since I was 17 and now 46 to be told I've been doing it wrong all these years stumped me,when I told my husband he said it sounds like cut backs.Any help I would be greafull.
Blue inhaler .: Had my yearly asthma... - Lung Conditions C...
Blue inhaler .
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40 Replies
•
Don't know what they would say to me I order 2 every month and I use my nebuliser just had my review
Take care
Dorothy
Been using blue inhaler for four years (COPD) and I was told to use as and when needed. Also told to use as many puffs as needed to recover breathing control but to be wary because it can (and does) make you very light-headed if more than about four puffs.
It's on my repeat prescription and replaced (almost) every month.
Of course I also have the other inhalers as well and they are also on monthly repeat prescription.
Never been any suggestion that I'm using it "too much" or that it should last longer than a month.
I'm guessing there will be other far more knowledgeable people on here who can advise you.
Good luck
Hi Brooke that's a load of rubbish! I have had asthma for many years too and have always been told to use the blue inhaler as and when needed. i get it on prescription once a month and use it up. My asthma is under control apart from once every couple of months when my throat clamps shut and I can't breathe. That's scary but hardly out of control. x
I get them when needed I have one in the kitchen one in the bedroom another in my handbag and one in the car. They are essential for if you get puffy, I do not know if this is true but you might be able to buy then without prescription, not sure though 
I heard that as well but don't know if it's true either. But I do agree with you about the importance of having a few of them; I have one in my jacket, one in the bedroom & usually a new one boxed as a safety in the cupboard. I've actually cut right down on using the blue one since swapping other meds & getting on Montelukast but still panic if I findmyself somewhere without a blue one in my pocket.
• in reply tostarveycat
I bought one once from Asda, cost about £8 over a weekend when Ithought mine was running out. Had to be iinterviewed by the pharmacy first who said I shouldn't be paying for them and he would be writing to my G P. Next time I collected a prescription, one was there for a new Ventolin. It was in March last year.
What total twaddle...a ventolin inhaler has 200 doses so that's how long it lasts! If they are trying to say you aren't managing it well.....well they are paid to help you to sort that out!!
It should be discarded after 6 months ..thats what my pharmacist said so your nurse will make you ill
Is that a used one should be discarded after 6 months Mandy if you haven't finished it. Doubt I have done that myself. Something to think about. Though now I am using it twice a day anyway. Though have gone for ages without using it. Will in future write in a marker on it the date I started it.
Yeah she said once its opened it needs to go in the bin after 6 months because the medication breaks down...
Makes sense
Sounds like you ae doing things correctly. Who told you you were not? Was this a Doc or nurse. Whoever it is seems to need educating.
If you have been going there all this time then its their fault if you havnt been using it right as its their responsibility that you have all the right information.
My gp told me i can use mine up to 6 times in 24 hours and once its opened it has to go in the bin after 6 months because the medication in it breaks down.
That nurse needs a retraining course. Interesting what others have said about the meds "breaking down"? I don't know if that I true, but I have found that if you keep one that has been used just a bit, perhaps in a bag or in the car, you may find it is empty when you come to use it. I have had this happen, so now I label the one I am using with the start date, this also gives me an idea of when it will run out.
Good idea.
Thank you everyone for your replies. I told the nurse that an inhaler can never last a year and iv always been told to use as and when needed, she told me IT MUST LAST ONE YEAR,and if I'm using it more than twice a week my asthma is our off control. should I complain?
freefaller• in reply to
More than twice a week. I think you need to see your GP and get this clarified. Every one at your surgery are going to be told this and this must be put right.
Minushabens• in reply to
I think what's happening is that she's confusing lots of different aspects of inhaler use & thereby confusing you.
So you need to ascertain:
1. Does the inhaler have a 'shelf life'? They have a use by date on the cannister generally but that's the first I've heard about the medicine breaking down. It might very well be true but all this is a technical point about the drug itself & irrelevant to your treatment. However the information is useful because she is (I think) conflating technical, medical & possibly financial issues.
2. Are you being treated correctly? This is more complicated, but a simple calculation says if you are (for example) told to take it before exercise as many people are, & you exercise every day then it is going to last 200 days not 365 even if you never have any other problems.
3. Have you been advised about usage in the context of an asthma management plan? Using more than twice a day may indicate a need for further investigation & increase of preventer & is often used as a trigger, but twice a week???? Which two days does she advise you take it then? If you take two on a Monday does that mean you have to ignore your symptoms until next Monday? Her instructions quickly fall apart when you put them under scrutiny.
For what it's worth I think you probably have two options; go back to see her armed with a clearer picture of evidence, symptoms, understanding of the role & function of a Management Plan & try to have a new conversation with her, or find someone else to discuss it with that is better informed. That might mean talking to the practice manager, the GP or just moving surgery. But what you cannot do is get yourself to a situation either where you are frightened to take the blue inhaler when you need it or are refused a prescription because you have used it "too much".
Hi brooks. I am sure it's nothing to do with cutbacks, Ventolin is very cheap. Obviously you should use it whenever you need it, it's a short-acting bronchodilator so that's what it's for. Perhaps what the nurse meant is that she doesn't think your asthma is very well controlled, because if it was, you wouldn't need to use the Ventolin very often. But she seems to have explained that very badly! I would make an appointment with your GP and tell him/her what the nurse has said, and ask what can be done to get better control over your asthma. Are you using a steroid inhaler? (usually brown or orangey colour)
Absolute rubbish! I'm prescribed 3 a month! Tell that nurse to shove a straw up one nostril, hold the other one closed and shut her mouth and then see how well she breathes! 
• in reply tofrose
Ha I'd like to see that! Don't take this the wrong way tho frose but you've got complex lung problems (I checked ) whereas brooks mentions asthma, doesn't say if she has other stuff going on. Someone who's "just" asthmatic shouldn't need Ventolin very often, if they do it's a sign it's not well controlled & other drugs should be added in. But this idiot nurse doesn't propose DOING anything to improve brooks' situation, just tells her not to use her inhaler, which is clearly plain stupid & wrong.
• in reply to
Er...I don't quite agree with that Fairlass. For many years I only had asthma which was controlled with the use of the blue inhaler. I always used it at least twice a day because of wheezing and sob. It stopped it straightaway. x
• in reply to
Hi coughalot! The advice changed a while back when it was realised too many asthmatics being managed with blue inhalers only were being hospitalised or worse. Now the NHS says a blue inhaler "should rarely, if ever, be necessary if asthma is well controlled, and anyone needing to use them three or more times a week should have their treatment reviewed." nhs.uk/Conditions/asthma/Pa... We're only talking about asthma here, not other complications like copd, bronch etc. Of course ONE inhaler is stupid though, you need one accessible eg by the bedside, in handbag, car etc
• in reply to
That's interesting FL and I didn't know that. I also heard from another site that the blue ventolin inhaler isn't useful for emphysema but only with an asthma component. I have copd as well but I still use mine at least 6 puffs a day.
Mind you when I was first diagnosed with copd around 5 years ago my fev1 was only 62%. When I got the symbicort it went up to 73% and the nurse said it was probably so low coz the asthma was poorly treated!
If the blue inhaler doesn't do much and I use mine so often do I need a different reliever do you think? And are there different ones? x
• in reply to
Hello again! Symbicort as you know is a combination steroid + long-acting bronchodilator so not surprising you've improved on that. It does sound to me (I'm not medically trained but had asthma etc since infancy) as though you need something else. Have you tried Spiriva? It's another long-acting one but in a different class from the one in Symbicort so you can use both patient.info/medicine/tiotr...
When I went to RBH recently they told me it's recently been found to be effective for asthma as well as COPD, lots of people doing really well on it, so I am trying it and it's definitely helping. Maybe tell someone you need your reliever 6 times a day and ask about Spiriva? You only use it once a day so it's no hassle. I felt the benefit within a week xxx
• in reply to
Thanks FL. I am prescribed Spiriva and took it for ages but it just made me cough more and didn't seem to help with my breathing, so I stopped it. Maybe I should try it again? x
• in reply to
Hmmm you could try, but it doesn't suit everyone. There are lots of different inhalers eg I take Serevent & Flixotide. I don't have the combo one (Seretide) because I need more of the steroid one. Have a look here at all the different ones patient.info/health/inhaler... Or, have you ever tried Montelukast (brand name Singulair)? That's a tablet not an inhaler but also good as add-on therapy for some asthmatics. I think you need a discussion with your gp, definitely xxx
• in reply to
Thanks FL much appreciated. x
• in reply tofrose
Ha ha say it like it is frose x
Fair point, and yes I agree. The thing is, surely no one actually uses an inhaler when not needed, so as you say it's not controlled which, in itself needs more investigation. I just get annoyed when inhalers are restricted. When my doctor was new to me he told me NICE guidelines recommend a maximum of 1 inhaler a month. When, shortly afterwards, I was ambulanced to hospital he promptly changed his mind!
• in reply tofrose
Yes exactly, you can't deny someone the means of relieving their shortness of breath or god forbid an asthma attack because "the regulations" say so. Especially if you're not going to investigate further. Cruel, AND irresponsible.
Hi. How did the nurse diagnose that you were using the inhaler wrong? Did she use a flow meter? Did she train you to use the inhaler properly.
I only found out that I was using my inhalers incorrectly after about 18 months I was originally diagnosed. I would have never known if I had not changed pharmacies. The new pharmacist took me into his consulting room and then used a flow meter with dummy inhalers to diagnose my technique with each inhaler. He then trained me to use each inhaler correctly.
Also a COPD nurse advised me always to use the Blue inhaler 10 minutes before using my preventive inhalers. This ensures you get the preventive medicine deeper into your lungs.
If you have not received training try your pharmacist.
Regards
Andy
Thank you all as I have learned a great deal from all your replies to this post.
I have to have at least three blue inhalers one in car one in handbag and one by my bed. They never last more than three months but I could never cope with just one. I don't think people who do not have breathing problems understand the urgency one feels when short of breath.
Have you tried asking about a Flutter device.
My GP now describes my lungs as crap lungs with heart conditions. I have always been told I use my inhaler well but to get a better dose I now use a spacer and it has helped a little. However I have not had a single test bar a spirometry test at my GP Practice in 2012 which confirmed RLD and later PH at the hospital tests. I moved to this practice in 2002 and have never been told to see anyone regarding my breathing?
I can only think that the hospital admissions give them enough information so they save money by not getting me to see anyone in the practice? Sorry moan over.
Be Well
I would suggest you question this!!!
Hi folks,I am using my inhaler the right way,but cos I use it more than twice a week,she told me my asthma is out of control. She told me one inhaler should last one year.Which is why I came on here for advice. Thanks for all the replies.
My old GP was a real tight wod and wouldn't give you meds you need I changed my GP best thing I ever did I would change the nurse if I were you, you don't have enough single puffs in a blue inhaler to last a year wouldn't like to be at her house for Christmas lunch
• in reply toonamission
I have recently changed gps,it's the nurse I'm mad at.I will be putting in a complaint tomorrow.
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