ventolin nebules for nebulizer

does anybody know if you can buy these over the internet or are they a prescription only drug, thanks

[yaf_user681_33231]

POM, Prescription Only Medicine

[Hidden]

Hi Donna .. Gornfishing is right ... and I feel I should add... by saying if by some miracle you ever came across them on the www .... please do not buy as your GP would need to regulate/advice on the doses YOU require.

Also there is the concerns about the quality and efficiency of some medicines bought over the www ... Please if you are having difficulty breathing or controlling your asthma PLEASE keep your doctors/nurses/ hospital consultants ETC advised and informed... I found a ""health diary"" very useful and even now (although am an old hand at this) I continue to use a chart as this helps my medical team access and control my condition.

I do have nebs at home and can self regulate doses as needed... However this was not arrived at quickly/easily as it is very easy to become dependent on the home neb... and I as I have said I keep a record of when and how many times I Nebulise!

I am sure you will get lots more advice regarding this from other AUK members!

Take care of yourself

Hugs from the Orkney Islands

Susy

[KateMoss]

What is the reason for you wanting to purchase Ventolin nebules on the internet?

If a GP feels that you need nebs they will prescribe them. As Susy states, many POM drugs 'available' on the internet are unregulated and often fakes - fakes even get into the proper drugs market too and are dangerous because they either contain no drug, too much , too little or even the wrong drug.

Do not ever by drugs on line!

Ventolin nebules contain I think the equivalent of 20 to 50 puffs of an inhaler and so a much stronger version and have side effects!

Home nebs are something that are not considered lightly by GPs and consultants as people can become over reliant on them and not get help until it is too late!

People often ask their GPs about home nebs after a trip to A&E where they have a neb and it works wonders. If you are ill enough to need a neb in most circumstances your need to be in hospital.

If you buy a nebuliser machine yourself which you can quite freely do these days, your doctor may not prescribe the nebules anyway if they don't consider you need it.

There are some of us here who do have home nebs etc and have very strict protocols to stick to - eg accute situations and also general daily nebs to simply help us lead a normal life ( usually severe & brittle asthmatics)

I hope this helps explain a bit.

Kate

[Hidden]

having just come out of hospital .......

i was on a neb every 4 hours for two days as struggling to breath ect plus steroids . The reason I asked about buying nebules over the net was that my asthma nurse is ok with me having a neb but my gps even tho they have lent me one for 13 weeks till my next hospital app ( not happy about that but the hospital is chocca) arnt realy keen on me having one. Iv only been dx about 7 weeks and thought buying a neb for myself would be a good idea its just getting the meds to go in them I didnt know if you could just buy them no other reason. out of the three gps that i see two arnt keen and one is ok about me having one. im on symbicort smart and ventolin plus montelukast tablet, thanks for your help , donna

[Hidden]

Hey,

From what you have said there seems to be many avenues to try before trying home nebs- theres lots a different treatments that may work just as well for you without the added burden of nebbing four times a day, nebulisers really are a last resort.

Em x

[Hidden]

Hello Donna,

Welcome to Asthma UK, I'm sorry to hear that you've just been diagnosed with asthma and that you've been in hospital. I hope you're beginning to feel a little better now.

One thing that I always say to new members is that this board attracts a disproportionate number of people with difficult or severe asthma, and you may therefore read about people who are on multiple medications, have poor control, frequent hospital admissions and even Intensive Care admissions. Please don't be frightened or put off by this - whilst experiences like that are common on the board, they are rare in asthma as a whole. The vast majority of people with asthma - maybe 95% - can be completely or almost completely controlled, once the right combination of medication is found, and can lead normal lives with little or no interference from their asthma. It's highly likely that you will be in this group. It may take a while to find the combination of medication that works for you, but once you have, you should be able to lead a normal life. Once your asthma is controlled, you should have little need to use your reliever inhaler (usually salbutamol/Ventolin) let alone the much more powerful dose of salbutamol provided by a nebuliser. Salbutamol and other relievers, whether given via an inhaler or a nebuliser, work by opening up the airways and relieving the symptoms, not by treating the underlying inflammation associated with asthma. This is why you have also been put on steroids and why you will probably need to stay on inhaled steroids of some description.

Just a few general words about nebulisers:

Nebulised medication is liquid medication that is put into a plastic chamber – air or oxygen is then blown through it to form a mist which is breathed in via a mask or mouthpiece. Many medications can be nebulised, but the most common ones for us lot would be salbutamol, a reliever or bronchodilator (just the same stuff that’s in our salbutamol/Ventolin inhalers, but in much higher doses) and ipratropium, another reliever. Other things that are occasionally nebulised for various reasons include antibiotics, steroids and saline.

The first time someone uses a nebuliser, it can often seem like a ‘magic bullet’, dramatically reversing symptoms of wheeze and tightness. Many people, when they have used a neb for the first time, understandably want access to this apparently amazing treatment at home. Whilst compressor machines and ultrasonic nebulisers can be purchased by anyone, the medication to use in the nebuliser can only be prescribed by a doctor, and therefore it is pointless buying a machine unless you have the approval of your medical team. Hospital respiratory teams will almost always have basic ‘workhorse’ compressor machines available for loan to those who they feel need one.

The decision to give someone a home nebuliser is not one that is made lightly, and will usually be reached by a hospital respiratory consultant in conjunction with the patient, the GP and other healthcare professionals such as respiratory nurses. It is powerful medication and it can be dangerous if used incorrectly.

There are two main reasons why someone would be given a nebuliser at home:

1) If someone has attacks that are so sudden onset and severe that they need to be able to use a neb while they are waiting for the ambulance - this is very rarely the case as the vast majority of people will get as much benefit from 10 - 15 puffs of salbutamol inhaler via a spacer. If someone has a neb for this reason, they should only use it when they have called an ambulance and are waiting for it to take them to hospital, and their GP should keep a close eye on how many nebs they are getting through to make sure of this.

2) Occasionally, someone with very severe asthma who is already on pretty much maximal other treatment will find that they respond so poorly to inhalers that the only way of keeping their airways open is to use nebs fairly regularly. In order that they are not in hospital all the time, for quality of life reasons, they may be given a neb to use regularly at home. This usually happens after many hospital admissions for asthma, and after attempts whilst in hospital to get the patient off regular nebs by adding in other medication. No-one should have a neb for this reason unless they have exhausted all other treatment options without success. There is some risk inherent in this strategy, and many of us who are in this situation will have experienced attacks when they have not sought help in a timely fashion because they have a home neb. The risk has to be balanced against the quality of life issues if the patient does not have a neb at home.

In both these cases, the patient will have very strict protocols about when they can use the neb, how frequently, and how often they can use it before they have to go to hospital. Giving someone a neb at home is always done with a lot of thought and caution on the part of the doctors, and has to be very carefully considered.

There is a very real danger that someone who has a neb at home will have a false sense of security about how easily their asthma can be treated, and will keep nebbing when they really should be getting into hospital and having other treatment. In a severe attack, nebs will often not work alone, and other treatments like IV hydrocortisone, IV magnesium and IV aminophylline may be needed, or even, in an extreme case, intubation and mechanical ventilation. By the time someone gets to the stage where nebs aren't working, they are usually extremely unwell and need to be in hospital very quickly. The large majority of asthmatics, if they are ill enough to need nebs, should be in hospital. It is a very small minority of asthmatics who will benefit from and be safe to use home nebs.

A good proportion of the deaths that occur in this country due to asthma are entirely preventable, and occur because people have underestimated their symptoms and have not got themselves into hospital quickly enough - and a lot of these are associated with the use of nebs.

In your case, you have only very recently been diagnosed with asthma, and I assume that your doctors are still finding the right combination of medication to control it for you. During the first few weeks, people often find that their control is not very good, as medication is adjusted and stepped up. This should improve. The goal of asthma treatment should be that you should have very few symptoms on a day-to-day basis, and your doctor should keep stepping up your treatment until this happens. Looking at your treatment at the moment, you are on a reasonably low level of treatment, so there is plenty of potential for increasing this, and there are many other treatments that you can try before home nebs would normally be considered.

Kate is right, as well, that medications bought on the internet are unregulated and can be extremely dangerous. They may be fakes, with the wrong drug, too much drug, too little drug or no drug at all. Even if they are the genuine article, you will usually end up paying a great deal more for them than you would pay if you got them on prescription. In addition to this, if you buy medication on the internet, your doctor is completely unable to monitor or regulate what medication you are having - something which we have already said is absolutely vital, for all medications, but especially for home nebs. Your doctor may get a false view of how well controlled your asthma is, based on the fact that he/she will think you are using very little reliever medication, and will therefore not step your treatment up when they should be doing so.

Please do not even consider buying medication on the internet. If you are continuing to have symptoms and feel like you need additional reliever medication, please go back to your doctor. You may need additional preventative medication, or even to be readmitted to hospital for a while. It may well take a few weeks to get your asthma under control, but it's highly likely that this will happen, and then you will have no need to even consider the prospect of home nebs.

Take care, and let us know how you get on.

Em H

[ash76 in reply to Hidden]

What a brill explanation em h. I myself have just got home after a full 2 weeks in hospital for my asthma. I've never been bad with it in the past only ever occasionally needing my ventolin. I had a terrible cough, cold which turned into a chest infection. I had terrible blocked nose & started with a tight chest & breath difficulties. I used 2 inhalers in 2 weeks. Anyway ended up being rushed in. I was out in nebs 4x a day. Also put on Iv magnesium, and Iv aminophylline also put me on forstair 200/6 inhaler, prednisoline steriods, Calbisistine, then when Iv aminophylline finished they put me on tablet version called uniphylline ?. So I was on hell of a lot. My absolute worst attack very very nearly ended with me being rushed to icu & being ventilated. It was a close call !!! It scared te living daylights out of me. I was in a bad way, had a few more but not quite as bad. I was on 4x reg nebs a day & a pattern of good/bad days & still needed an additional 4/5 prn nebs some days. So I was on a hell of a lot of nebs some days was 8+ nebs a day. I started to get better & weened myself of the nebs. I was worried about coming home as seemed my attacks where all or nothing. I did ask about having nebs at home as a back up but was told no for the reasons you explained. But one thing that did annoy me was the consultant said if I've stopped wheezing then the neb won't work ? But I cough not wheeze. I only went in with a wheeze due to chest infection & taking so very ill. Even during my worst attack I didn't wheeze but nurse put me straight on neb ? Doesn't make sense as it's common knowledge asthma is either a cough or wheeze. Also my oxogen levels didn't go very low. Even at the lowest they jumped back up quickly i.e. One point lowest was 74 but within secs jumped back up to 89/91ish. So I had blood gasses done (hurts like hell) and they where only slightly low ? I have clinic app in 2weeks so willAsk all this when go. It can be very very scary esp when icu where at end of bed discussing ventilating me !! And I couldn't even talk to them also my bronical attacks where very physical with the coughing & im sure they thought/made me feel like I was over acting it all. Which clearly I explained I wasn't there for fun & wouldn't put my body through that & the nurses would be able to tell. And icu wouldn't be called if I was putting it on 😡. Ward was full of old people who just quietly couldn't breath. But I was doing these massive loud coughs & then gasping & panting. It was just horrendous. Hence being worried to come home without a neb as back up. Stuffing bad like this is new to me. And not sure if it's going to e a one off or it's something I'm gonna struggle with now. So trying to find out as much as possible. Oh also on monelukast as I have high ige markers in bloods. Sorry endedup with long post. If still reading thanks for listening haha.

[bess7771]

get a nebuliser. gdt a good quality one. it will change your life. get ventolin produced in the UK < AUSTRALIA OR US. do not bother with bastilin ( said to be the same from india. ) something is different about it, if you think u need a nebuliser, buy one, but dont do it for petty asthma. if ur peak flow is constantly low eg below 300, get one. take npo kjptice of what anyone else says. its no biggy. easy to get, easy to manage ur own health. read up widely , both around and on, ur disability/. empower youiself with knowledge, and study.

do not overdo thew vemtolin, it causes palpitations, and agitation, but that is transient.

just go by feel

[bess7771 in reply to bess7771]

after nebulising ( when thebpassages will be open) inhale a steroid, so it gets as far down as possible. i use intal, reason is that it seems not to cause thrush. flixitde is very good, butb it can cause throat thrush, which ( for me) then goes on to secondary infection, so that is a major downer. but everyone is different. the principle is....open the airways, get the preventer down there. tryb to avoid prednisone, if possible. doctor will advise on that

[bess7771 in reply to bess7771]

actually intal is not a steroid, as such, or at all. get that straight. i didnt mean to imply that, but i did imply it. it is an anti-inflammatory and its good.