BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Asthma How many puffs do you take of inhaler?

In my asthma and allergies newsletter from Everyday health they have an article about how many puffs you should take. It only discussed reading the pamphlet of the inhaler to see what they suggest and keeping a record so you never run out of how many puffs you take vs how many in canister.

I was curious to see how puffs other asthmatics take of their fast acting inhaler.

I sometimes take 5 puffs in one hour. I have been sleeping with mine next to my bed the past week.

Today I'm having a bad day. I think it's the pollen in the air. I've been using two or three puffs of Xopenex every hour plus my usual Symbicort and Claritin.

The new steroid inhaler I got yesterday and the first time I have used one is called QVAR. The sticker they put on at Rite Aid says it may cause headaches.

Is this common for steroid inhalers?

The fast acting one I have is albuterol and I hate it. I buy primatene mist for spare inhaler in purse.

Albuterol inhaler;
This drug may be dangerous if patients increase dose and/or frequency, as it may result in rapid or irregular heart rhythm and fatalities with overuse.
Mild adverse Effects include;
Headache, dizziness, restlessness, insomnia-infrequent
Rapid heart rate
Serious Adverse Effects include;
Hypersensitivity reaction
Heart attack- from excessive inhalation use.
Abnormal heartbeats;
Serious heart rhythm problems or cardiac arrest can result from excessive
or prolonged inhalation.
Two inhalations repeated every 4 to 6 hours, for some patients, one inhalation every 4 hours may be enough.
Taking a larger number of inhalations is not recommended .
If the dose that previously worked does not provide relief, call your doctor immediately. the status of your asthma must be examined.

Personally (and I'm not a medical doctor) I would say if you're reaching for your emergency inhaler that often, the asthma is out of control.

We have an asthma action plan (for each child and for me). We use a stepped system. Normal "maintenance" use for our emergency inhalers (we use Xopenex as there are fewer reported side effects with this than with Albuterol) is typically 1-2 puffs PRN, but no more than twice per day. Next step is 2 puffs 3 times per day. Step 3 is 2 puffs every 4-6 hours. Next step is 2 puffs every 2 hours. Once anyone hits step 3, its an automatic visit to the doctor for additional intervention.

Additional meds on our "maintenance" plan include Advair (2 puffs 2 x day), Singulair, Nasonex and an allergy med (whichever is working at the moment). At step 2, 3, and 4 on our plan we also incorporate Flovent.

When anyone hits step 4, the likely additional interventions would include an oral steroid (typically prednisalone) and/or epinepherine. We RARELY hit step 4 status.

Primatene mist is never recommended by any of our physicians for adequate asthma management. The comments made by physicians regarding this med are not repeatable on a public forum.

As for headaches, many of the asthma/allergy meds can result in headaches (who knows why). Other common side effects are thrush (fungus in the mouth) and upper respiratory infections.

Thanks Rosie and Lynn for your responses. I am going to write them down. I like the plan Lynn and am currently on prednisone and got the shot Monday.

I think the antibiotics are helping as well. Taking 4 per day for ten days. I did not reach for the inhaler once during the night and woke up great. Then this morning needed it a few times and not time for another antibiotic. I am going to look into Xopenex and let the Dr know when I go back on Friday for a follow-up.

I ahte having to get the prednisone shots. I always gain weight when I am on a round of them when my asthma flairs to the point of being uncontrolled

I don't do the shots-just the oral prednisalone. But a week's worth of that is a week's more than I care to have. I give the term "baloon" new meaning.

At any rate, if you want more info on "Asthma Action Plans," check out the info on WebMD BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Hi,

I'm a newbie here, a respiratory therapist and an asthma sufferer. I use my albuterol only when having problems and at times I've used 5-6 inhalations in about 30-40 minutes. Make sure you wait a few minutes between breaths so the next one will go down farther and work better. I usually use 2 puffs about 2 minutes apart holding my breath for a count of 10 with each one, wait 10 minutes and repeat.

Albuterol can cause increased heart rate and tremors but it should be short term.

As mentioned above if you're relying on your rescue meds too often you need to check with your MD or go to the next step in your action plan.

You also have to make sure you're using the inhaler correctly. Coordination of inhalation and activation of the canister. If unable to do that a spacer is needed. If not used correctly you're not getting full benefits and wasting meds.

Sorry for taking over. This is a subject I'm very passionate about. I'll get off my soap box now.

The coordination activity is very hard to do for some - especially children. We're still using spacers for our 9 year old.