An inhaler is literally a lifeline for a person suffering from asthma. But not everyone knows how to use them.
Inhalers are often used for asthma, a condition in which the lungs struggle to absorb enough air and send it into the body. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), asthma affects 8% of Americans, and is even the cause of 9 to 11 deaths every day.
Dr. Y., chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. Michael Shim said, “It is also known that more than 60% to 80% of patients do not know how to use their inhaler properly.”
Here’s how to use an inhaler correctly to make sure you can keep asthma and other conditions under control.
Steps to use inhaler
“The biggest challenge is that there are more than 30 inhalers on the market in different shapes and formats, each requiring different technologies,” says Shim. First and foremost, follow your doctor’s specific instructions and the exact type of medication you are taking.
But in general, some guidelines can help most people use the inhaler.
Shim said everyone should use a spacer — not just kids. This is an attachment that goes on the end of the inhaler, and helps get more medicine into your lungs.
Next, blow completely, then press the inhaler button while breathing in slowly. Hold your breath at the end to make sure the medicine has completely settled into your lungs, Nationwide Children’s Hospital advises in a demo video.
Then slowly exhale. Follow the instructions on your inhaler for how many puffs to take. Some physicians recommend washing your mouth after use by gargling and rinsing with water.
This may prevent some unnecessary side effects and protect your oral health.
“Typically, poor technique causes inhaler medications to lodge either in the mouth or in the vocal cords, leading to thrush (a fungal infection in the mouth) or vocal cord irritation and hoarseness,” Shim said.
Learning about types of inhalers
Some people may need more than one type of inhaler.
“Rescue inhalers should be used only if someone needs additional medication,” Shim said. “We generally prefer that patients do not need these rescue inhalers, because our maintenance medications should control asthma well at baseline. Maintenance inhalers are either long-acting airway dilators or anti-inflammatory medications such as steroids that patients must take daily.”
Shim said the current approach has changed slightly in recent years, “allowing some maintenance medications to be used as needed on an on-demand schedule rather than a continuous schedule.”
Talk to your primary care doctor or pulmonologist for specific recommendations.
Reporting by Alexandra Frost, USA TODAY/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.