I've had some serious difficulty breathing lately, but I also have a very tight throat. I think the tightness is from the reflux, but I also tighten up a lot in the cold. When my throat is as tight as it is - like difficult to swallow my own saliva/mucus tight - would that potentially block rescue inhaler from reaching my lungs? Like would it just stick in my throat instead of the lungs? I'm scared because its taking a LOT of attempts/puffs for my inhaler to work, but if it does work, it works quickly. It also worries me my purple inhaler isn't reaching my lungs either!
I'm using a volumatic spacer for the record.
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GreatGateway
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Looks like you need to go to the GP tomorrow or the walk in..
maybe an infection maybe a flare up so I reckon antibiotics and/ or prednisolone which will help you dry out that mucus. Yes when the bronchia fill up with mucus spacer or not it is difficult for the inhaler to get through.
And respiratory exercises are good to expectorate I got the chance to go to the physio and learn so now I have to do 3 times a day so I don't let it build up again. Look it up on the net for now and ask for a referral when you can.
Do you use an aero chamber or Volumatic? An appointment with a nurse to review your inhaler technique and that you have the right delivery device could help. On this occasion nurse best not part GP training.
I hope you've been to the Dr. by now and are feeling a bit better, having sorted the reflux issue. Remember a thick scarf over your mouth if you have to go out in the cold. I have had asthma over 50 years and it is only in the past 10 that I have learned to inhale properly - everyone before just assumed I knew how to do it as I'd been doing it for so long! You have to be determined to allocate a good 3 or 4 minutes to this, as you spend the 1st minute just calming down and doing your best to calm your breathing enough to take advantage of the medication. One Dr. suggested I take the blue inhaler as soon as I woke up, to open my lungs up for the preventative one I'd take later on. Good idea if you wake up a bit breathless. The spacer is an excellent tool, but it can't work if you are gasping at it: you need the right breathing technique for that as well. I've got a small one that makes a noise if you breathe in too rapidly - might help.
Keep calm and ring the asthma nurse on 0300 222 5800 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) at Asthma UK if you are still worried. S/he knows a lot more than I do!
Do the asthma inhalers cause reflux? Since I have changed to Fostair Next inhaler I have had reflux and been told to take Lanzaprazole long term which I am not happy about! I still had a Seretide 100 which the doctor took me off so I decided to use this for a month and my reflux has disappeared and I have stopped taking lanzaprazole. So I feel it may be the inhalers causing reflux! Also as mentioned above about aero chambers I cannot use one with Seretide or Fostair as they are different shapes - the Seretide is round and the Fostair next inhaler is sort of oblong!
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