Asthma Home : Asthma Cure : Asthma Inhalers

The Workings of Asthma Inhalers

The treatment of asthmatic patients has been considerably transformed with the advent of the asthma inhaler. This inhaler can be used to enable children as well as adults to get medicine directly into the lungs, anytime and anywhere. There are many different types of asthma inhalers that can be used to help relieve as well as control symptoms of asthma, and two common types are metered-dose inhalers and the dry powder asthma inhaler.

Just One Part of Asthma Treatment

Utilizing the asthma inhaler is but a part of the treatment plan that may also require checking the lung function with the help of a peak flow meter as well as to get rid of asthma triggers. Knowing about the asthma inhaler that is available for use as well as knowing how to use them will help manage the asthma and get the best from the available treatment plan. The metered-dose inhaler uses a chemical propellant to get the medication out of the inhaler which may require squeezing or direct inhalation. The dry powder inhalers do not contain chemical propellants to force out the medication from the inhaler but rather releases when inhaled and it is faster than the metered-dose inhaler.

The asthma inhaler is used to provide the asthmatic with different asthma medications. Some of these medications are for long-term control, while others provide instant relief. Inhaled asthma medications include: short-acting bronchodilators, long acting bronchodilators, corticosteroids, cromolyn or nedocromil and corticosteroids plus long- acting bronchodilators.

The basic working of the asthma inhaler is, in the case of metered-dose inhalers, by using a pressurized canister that can be squeezed at the top which causes a fine mist to be released. There are also some metered-dose inhalers that do not require squeezing because they are breath actuated and one may place one’s lips on or near the mouthpiece of the inhaler to inhale the mist.

In the case of the dry powder inhaler, one must place the lips on the mouthpiece and inhale faster than in the case of the metered-dose inhaler and the dry powder inhaler is often considered as being easier to use than the metered-dose inhaler due to hand-lung coordination not being required. Whichever type of inhaler a person uses, it is important that it be used properly to make the medication more effective and often, there may be some difficulty experienced when taking asthma medication regularly, more so in the case of corticosteroids.