I got a letter from the doctor's office this morning trying to persuade us to go on to Salamol since it has a much lower carbon footprint than Ventolin. I've got to reply within a fortnight or they will automatically switch me on to the Salamol. I've been happy with Ventolin but would be grateful to know what you think. Has anybody ever switched for instance?
I've got severe COPD and also take Trimbow. I take single puffs of Ventolin 2 or 3 times per day.
Thanks very much.
I don't find salamol as effective as ventolin for me and my GP has agreed for me to continue to use ventolin as she finds it more effective for her asthma too.While not a GP issue, perhaps more emphasis should be put on all the aerosol products on supermarket shelves such as hairsprays and body sprays etc.,.
Pete now has Salamol instead of Ventolin. He was told it was the same thing but it’s not. If you feel you do well on Ventolin then stick with that. Good luck to you. Xxx
Stay with Ventolin as is much better. Forget carbon footprint its cheaper thats why they want you to switch!
I was switched to Salamol without being consulted and did not find it as effective. My doctor agreed to switch me back. I mean to try Salamol in my spacer , because I believe it is the delivery agent which is inferior, not the amount of Salbutamol.
At least you were asked! My doctors just switched it over to Salamol and I didn't know until I looked at my online prescription list. I'm not keen on it, it has a plasticy taste and the actual device clogs up too quickly. The worst aspect of it is that it's too lightweight even when brand new. This makes it almost impossible to know if there's any actual medication left in the tiny canister. With Ventolin, a new, unused one weighs 26 gms on my scales, when it's down to 12 or 13 gms it's time to throw it away. Feels important to me, with Salamol you could be off for a day out and be taking a virtually empty one with you.
I shake all of my canisters,to check whats left
That works with Ventolin, Salamol - not so much.
That's good to know thank you for posting.
mine was swapped a few months ago . it is cheaper and supposed to be better. uses less propellant. but you cannot tell in a spacer if it id delivering anything. i find spacers are fine but you have to hit them correctly I rely on hearing the correct sound and this doesnt give any idea local pharmacist said it was ok surgery pharmacist knew what i was phoning about before i told her . so others not happy too. save all your containers and return them to pharmacy for recyling.
Thanks very much for the helpful replies. I would have been very unhappy without my Ventolin!
I’m another inhaler user that couldn’t get on with Salamol. My repeat prescription just had ‘salbutamol’ but Ventolin had been delivered by the pharmacy for years. About 3 months ago Salamol was delivered instead. I tried to get on with it, using it with and without my spacer, but decided to ask my nurse practitioner if salbutamol instead of Ventolin could be on my repeat. This was sent to the surgery pharmacist who changed the repeat. Salamol contains alcohol whereas Ventolin doesn’t. Happy Breathing to you.
I was not asked if I would like to change from one to the other it was just done automatically when I re-ordered. Cannot say I have really noticed any difference but I do not need to use it very often.
Hi, I found I was using a lot more salamol and it was not very affect. My consultant told my gp to change it back to ventolin as it was not good for me.
Like many of you I was swapped from Ventolin to Salamol without being asked. I decided to give it a go but didn’t feel it was as good. Final straw was on a number of occasions, I started a new canister but after a few uses it seized up and refused to work. After several trips to the chemist with the offending canister I asked to go back on Ventolin which happened without query. If you’re not happy just tell your GP
I think the plastic holder's tiny vent gets bunged up very easily. The manufacturer instructions say to wash it out at least once a week, more frequently in humid conditions. Then of course you have to dry it, difficult when your radiator isn't on, how else can you dry inside the tiny hole? Also the push-down part sometimes stops pushing down, and no cure for that I think. To be fair, I've had a seized Ventolin on occasion. I now keep a couple of old cases (the blue bit) washed and dry and ready to go.
Salamol didn’t work as well for me, and had a funny taste, so my gp put me back on ventolin, but my drs has now amalgamated with another,and is now in a super swanky building with its own pharmacist so I expect the question of changing will raise its ugly head again.
My GP used to listen to what i said re changing inhalers. When I was changed from one purple on to another (cheaper probably) I ended up having a biopsy of a skin rash which started 4 or so months after an inhaler change. All they could put it down to was the different propellant in the inhaler, so have always had the original one.
Ventolin and salamol are the same drug... salbutamol, but salamol has less propellant, hence the 'green' label. Various studies have looked at their efficacy and found them to be identical. Having said all that , when I was changed from ventolin to salamol I found the latter less effective, and, as others have said, difficult to tell when its empty. I changed to a dry powder formulation of salbutamol....easyhaler. I have found this effective, easy to use and better than ventolin because it is a metered dose so you know when you have got to the end of the canister and how many doses you have taken.
This has been an incredibly helpful thread. My GP didn’t change me over from ventolin; I just got salamol when I collected my prescription. The chemist said it was a supply issue and has always swapped it back to ventolin for me. I didn’t like the taste, didn’t find it as effective and had the same issue with listening to the canister. Thanks everyone as ever.
I had the same problem and asked the doc to put me back on to ventolin I think its only because its the cheaper brand good luck and stick by your guns as I found the other one to not work as well as the ventolin
Hi Franmol I take ventolin to help with my bronchiectasis. Being hard of hearing I found it difficult to judge how much was left. I have resorted to keeping a five bar gate so I know when it is empty. Interesting to hear about the alternative. I've been lucky so far not to have been changed.
I can only echo what others have said: stick with ventolin. Salamol didn’t work when I really needed it and it was a very scary experience. Nurses at my gp practice insist that they are the same, they are not. It must be the propellant that makes the difference, but it comes down to being able to breathe or not when I’ve got germs on my lungs. I have insisted on ventolin and thank goodness they have listened.
I actually prefer salamol, it seems to do the job just as well as Ventolin and has the added bonus of being smaller in size ( still 200 puffs ) so easier to carry around.
It is the same active drug. It is not cheeper than ventolin. It has a much softer delivery wich dosen't suite everyone. If you use a spacer this shouldent make a differance. But i am surprised you have been told to take one puff insted of two as two puffs are the most efective way to take a short acting relever. I would give it a try if it dosent suit you ask to go back.
I asked my pharmacist what the difference between the two and he said they both have the same ingredients but different brand names......
I have used Ventolin for years - the pharmacy gave me Salamol once. I found it didn’t work as well, and I have asked to always have Ventolin prescribed.It left an awful taste in my mouth too.
Like Stones93, I use the Easyhaler. I get asthma from the propellant in the Ventolin.
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