How do I get a new inhaler as mine has just run out.

My inhaler has just run out and I have to go to work the next 2 days. I work in retail. I can’t get to a surgery until at least Monday afternoon. My chest is tight and a bit wheezy.

[Hidden]

Which inhaler? If salbutamol, take your prescription to a chemist and they should be able to sell you one

How did you run out? Try & keep a spare if you rely on it

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I have salbutamol but he won’t gove it to me without a prescription but my drs is shut until Monday.

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

If you have run out of preventer and you have a prescription take it to your pharmacy and explain the situation. If not, call 111 and they’ll get out of hours to prescribe you one so you can get it

If you’ve run out of reliever go to your pharmacy, with the empty and a prescription if you have one, and explain. Usually they are able to give out a reliever without needing to check up with your GP first as a one off emergency, if you have evidence that you use one.

Hope this helps

[primrose123]

You should ask your local pharmacist for an inhaler as you cannot get a prescription until Monday, if your pharmacy is closed, you should either phone NHS24 or go to your nearest A&E tonight & they will check you out & give you the medication that you require... You should always carry a blue reliever inhaler with you at all times..Hope all goes well for you Deetoves.. Take care, & God bless...xx

[lakelover]

If you count the number of doses you use, it won't happen. I make notes on my peak flow chart.

[Hidden in reply to lakelover]

Thank you. X

[EdinburghLass1977]

I always think it’s daft that salbutamol MDIs don’t have a counter on them yet my Relvar and Incruse both do. 🤷‍♀️

[Hidden in reply to EdinburghLass1977]

Same here.

[lucymockingjay]

If you ring 111 they will get a clinician to ring you back and a gp or nurse will send a prescription through to a chemist that is open over the weekend near where you live.

You gp then will be informed that you contacted out of hours. Jist so they have a record of it too. I dont know of rhat alao has something ro do with how they get paid or not too . Wouldnt surprise me.

Im future though, try and get you doctoet to prescribe two fpr you.

Be prepared that it might be quite a wait though, for a call back wirh everything goomg on at the moment unless you are actively wheeezy or showing signs of an asthma attack when you speak to them. They are brilliant, though generally, every time i have spoken to them although i believe they have taken on a lot of new staff at the moment so who knows.

They are just following the script on a screen which can be frustrating when you know what the issie is or what you need such as as last time, i was told the script was saying i needed ambulance and i was like, that is the last thing i need, especially at the moment! So he had to get a nurse bless him, and because of her experience she was able to do a workaround on the system!

Things like temp and chest pain and wheezing are all signs of needing an ambulance but doesn't take into account what you are normaly like or pre exisring conditions so it can be challenging. Therr should be a way where a clinician can override it but explain why whoch would save time.

I feel sorry for them though, they are villified if they get it wrong, yet the ambulance services have a go at them if they think they call them out and they shouldn't have been, uet all they have to go of off is someones voice and a computer screen!

I

Good luck amd hope ypu get it dorted of you havent already xxx

[Hidden in reply to lucymockingjay]

Thank you so much. 😊

[Chris3053]

Don’t go to work until you get your inhalers .

[Hidden in reply to Chris3053]

I have to. I don’t get paid for the first 3 days so I’ll be really short. 😣

[Spikedog66]

Please don't go to work if you are wheezy, you are very susceptible to catching caronavirus. Can someone not loan you one until you get one. Some supermarkets have pharmacies open they may help until Monday or 111 will help. Stay safe. 😊

[Hidden in reply to Spikedog66]

Thank you. I will try them. Xx

[Thomas45]

You can check the state of any pressurised canister inhaler, i.e. not dry powder inhalers, by putting the canister in a glass of water. If it's full it will sink to the bottom. If it's empty it will float on the surface and if it's somewhere between it will be at the appropriate depth of water. My pharmacy have a record of my regular prescribed drugs so do issue drugs if I run out, which I haven't done for several years.

If you use the same pharmacy all the time they should be able to issue you with the drug you need without a prescription

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Thomas45]

Please only do this with the spray/puff/MDI inhalers! DPI/suck inhalers must be kept dry... if you get it wet it’ll become useless!

[Thomas45 in reply to EmmaF91]

I don't have access to the canister on my dry powder preventer inhaler. Are there dry powder reliever inhalers?

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Thomas45]

Yes there are. And yes they come with counters, but in my experience also less doses. Ie MDI ventolin had 100 doses (200 puffs), whereas the DPI only has 60 doses (60 sucks as its double the strength of the MDI). I just wanted to make sure no one took the ‘any inhaler’ literally 😅. Any MDI can be checked in water but DPIs can’t.

[Thomas45 in reply to EmmaF91]

Yes my DPI DuoResp spiromax 320/9 has a counter so don't need to check it further. My salamol has a canister but no counter

[Thomas45 in reply to EmmaF91]

my original note is now amended

[lakelover in reply to Thomas45]

Bricanyl is a dpi & has 100 doses in it.

[Thomas45 in reply to lakelover]

Does it have an accessible pressurised canister? I suspect not, but it does have an integral counter. ggcprescribing.org.uk/media...

[lakelover in reply to Thomas45]

No, it's a dpi actuated by your suck.

[galathea]

In theory you can buy them for £7 over the counter without a prescription. Here is a pulse article about it. pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical/a...

[davehill]

Should be able to request online. And they can send prescription direct to chemist. Have you registered for patient access. You should and it’s easy