What is a Ventolin asthma inhaler?

The Ventolin asthma inhaler contains the active drug, salbutamol, and helps to relieve symptoms of asthma attack or difficulty breathing. It is very effective and works quickly, making it extremely useful for people that suffer from asthma. It is an inhaled drug and helps by relaxing the airways to enable easier breathing and can help to relieve an acute asthma attack.

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a common condition involving the airways and produces symptoms related to difficulty breathing, such as:

• Shortness of breath
• Coughing
• Chest tightness
• Wheezing (rattle-like sound with each breath)

Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways, making it difficult for air to pass through and for you to breathe normally. The lining becomes red and inflamed, sometimes with mucous and the airways become narrower. This makes breathing difficult and can lead to an asthma attack, which can sometimes be fatal.

How does Ventolin work?

The active ingredient in Ventolin, salbutamol, is called a bronchodilator, which means it works by relaxing the muscles around the airways. As it is an inhaled drug, you breathe it in and it works directly on the airways in a short amount of time. As a result, it is a great medication to help when you are suffering from bad asthma symptoms. The main action of Ventolin is to relax the airways to allow you to breathe easily again. This is perfect to relieve symptoms when they worsen, but Ventolin will not help to prevent your symptoms from returning. If you suffer from symptoms regularly, you should talk to your doctor about how to prevent asthma symptoms.

How do you take Ventolin?

Ventolin is a drug that should be inhaled to help you breathe when you are suffering from asthma symptoms. It can take some coordination in order to use the inhaler properly and get the most out of the drug, but it is essential you know how to do it and practice to do it right. This is a guide of how to use your Ventolin asthma inhaler:

1. Remove the cap and shake inhaler before use.
2. Take a normal breath and breathe out completely.
3. Put your mouth over the mouthpiece and seal with your lips to prevent air escaping.
4. Start taking a slow deep breath in, then press down the canister button at the top of the inhaler and continue to breathe in as deeply as you can.
5. Hold your breath for 10 seconds to allow the drug time to work in your airways and then exhale slowly.

This is how to take one puff - usually people will need more than one puff to relieve their symptoms. You should talk to you doctor about how many puffs you will need to take to relieve your symptoms. Ventolin does not need to be taken regularly every day, as it is designed to provide relief of symptoms when they affect you, not to prevent asthma.

What is a spacer?

A spacer is a device that you can use with your Ventolin asthma inhaler to help you take the medication and allow it to work in your airways. It can be difficult for some people to coordinate the timing of the drug with breathing in when using the Ventolin inhaler and a spacer is designed to help you with this. This is how to use a spacer with your Ventolin asthma inhaler:

1. Remove cap and shake inhaler before use.
2. Insert inhaler into end of spacer and breathe out away from spacer.
3. Put your mouth over the mouthpiece and seal with your lips to prevent air escaping.
4. Press down the canister button at top of inhaler to release medication into the inhaler.
5. Breathe in slowly and deeply.
6. Hold your breath for 10 seconds to allow the drug time to work in your airways and then exhale slowly.

Once again, these are the instructions for one puff and you will usually need more than one to relieve symptoms. You should talk to you doctor about how many puffs you should take. Does Ventolin have side effects?

Like all drugs, some people can experience side effects when taking Ventolin. These may include:

• Increased heart rate or palpitations
• Muscle tremor (shaking hands)
• Anxiety

It is important to realise that these side effects are not particularly severe in comparison to the results an asthma attack can have if someone is not treated. As such, do not be afraid to use Ventolin in the event of someone having an asthma attack, as it is more likely to do good than harm.

Do you need preventative medication for asthma?

Ventolin works to relieve asthma symptoms but will not help to protect your airways and prevent asthma from affecting you. There are other medications available that have a long-term effect on your airways to help control your symptoms and prevent you from experiencing symptoms. If you experience asthma symptoms regularly, you should talk to you doctor about whether you should take preventative medication. Even if you have preventative medication, you still need to have the Ventolin inhaler with you, just in case your asthma symptoms get worse. 

Side Effects

Possible side effects include:

• increased heart rate, sometimes felt as palpitations
• muscle tremor (shaking, especially in the hands), and/or
• slight feelings of anxiety or nervousness

These effects generally pass quickly, and are less likely to occur after the medication has been used a few times. They may occur when you take higher doses of the medication, such as during an asthma emergency. 

Patient Information Leaflet

Always read the patient information leaflet before commencing treatment. Patient information can be found here.