Inhalers can help you control your asthma symptoms by opening and relaxing your airways. They can be fast-acting rescue medicines or long-term controllers.
Most current inhalers use meter dose inhalers which contain propellants made from hydrofluoroalkanes – potent greenhouse gases. Switching to a greener dry powder inhaler can reduce this impact.
Medications
If you have asthma, it is important that you take your medicines as directed. This will help you get the best control possible and will reduce your environmental impact. You should also work with your healthcare professional to develop an asthma action plan (AMP), a written document that you and your provider create together. It will include information on how to manage your symptoms and what to do when they flare up.
Inhalers are a vital tool for managing your asthma. However, many people don’t know that standard inhalers have an outsize carbon footprint. They contain powerful global warming gases and one inhaler produces the equivalent of 28 kg of CO2e. This is why the NHS is trying to move away from using these specialitymedz brand inhalers, and many people can switch to a greener inhaler that is just as effective at delivering medication.
The most common type of inhaler is the meter dose inhaler, which contains a propellant call hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs). HFAs are better than the chlorofluorocarbons use in earlier inhalers because they don’t damage the ozone layer. However, they still have more than 1,000 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. This means that if all meter dose inhalers were switch to greener ones, they would save over 75 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year.
Currently, around 80,000 greener inhalers are being prescribe each month in Greater Manchester. This represents about 25% of all the inhalers being use in our city region.
These inhalers are smaller, lighter and come with an indicator that shows how much medicine is left. They can be more convenient and easier to use, especially for children who may need to use a spacer. There are also combination inhalers available that contain both ICS’s and LABA’s to prevent symptoms when taken regularly.
If you’re switching inhalers, your healthcare professional will tell you how to use them properly. They will also check that you understand your medications, the reasons they’ve been prescribe and how to take them. They will also ask about your symptoms and how your health is improving.
Colors
When you inhale an asthma medication through an inhaler, the medicine goes straight to your lungs and airways. This means that the dose of medicine that you need is much smaller than if you took the medication as a tablet or liquid by mouth. The inhaler itself also delivers the medicine more quickly to your lungs and airways.
Because of this, inhalers are typically color to let you know what kind of medication is inside. You’ve probably heard that blue inhalers are use for emergency treatment and that brown inhalers are prescribe for daily use as part of your asthma treatment plan. But you may have seen other colors, too, especially with the introduction of new inhaler devices and medications over recent years.
Generally speaking, most inhalers follow an informal color convention that allows patients and HCPs to easily distinguish different types of inhalers from one another. Blue inhalers are traditionally associate with short-acting beta2-agonist inhalers or’reliever’ inhalers to treat the symptoms of an asthma attack. Brown inhalers are traditionally associate with long-acting beta2-agonist inhalers use to prevent asthma attacks, or ‘preventer’ inhalers.
However, the informal inhaler colour convention is not regulated, and each drug manufacturer has a choice of what colors to use for their Cheapest Inhaler For Asthma. Some choose to stick with old standard colors, while others might even change the traditional meanings of inhaler colors completely. As such, it’s always best to pay close attention to the medication label to ensure you are using the inhaler that your doctor has prescribe for you.
In the case of inhalers, this is particularly important because it’s a good idea to have more than one on hand in order to be prepare for an emergency asthma attack or COPD flare-up. This is especially important if you live alone or have a spouse, parent, or child who might need to use your inhaler in your absence.
Holding spacers
Using a spacer to help with the technique of inhalation helps you get more medicine into your lungs. It also reduces the amount of medication that is deposite on your throat (which can cause side effects such as thrush or hoarseness). Ask your doctor about getting a prescription for a holding spacer.
Inhaler devices are designd to deliver aerosol medicine directly into the lungs. Compare to tablets or liquid medicines, inhale medicines use much smaller doses, and are absorbe into the bloodstream. As a result, they have fewer side-effects. However, poor inhaler technique can significantly reduce the benefit of your asthma treatment and may increase your risk of side-effects.
A good quality spacer should be washable, with a face mask and soap, and air-dried or wipe (rather than being blown dry) after each use. Keeping your spacer clean helps reduce static charge that can affect its performance. In addition, a yearly wash is adviseto ensure that the device does not retain accumulate dust particles or debris.
If you do not wash your spacer, it can build up a static charge that prevents the inhaler from discharging the full dose of medication. This wastes your medication and can cause an inhalation irritation.
To wash your spacer, remove it from the inhaler and rinse it gently with warm water and dishwashing liquid. Afterward, let it drip-dry or air-dry, and replace it if it gets irretrievably soil or damaged.
Medication labels
Medications use in the treatment of asthma come with instructions for their use. Patients should always read these carefully, and ask doctors if they are unsure of anything. They should also use their inhalers correctly, and test them or “prime” them before using them for the first time and each time they haven’t use them for 7 days or more. To prime the inhaler, spray 4 times into the air away from the face, ensuring that all the medicine can be delivered.
Using inhalers correctly is vital for the effectiveness of your medication, and will help reduce waste. If you’re not sure of the correct way to use your Green Asthma Inhaler, a doctor or nurse can show you how to use it properly. They may be able to change your prescription or advise you on ways to get better control of your asthma symptoms without needing a rescue inhaler.
It’s important to know what kind of inhaler you have, as different types have a different impact on the environment. Reliever inhalers are usually blue, while preventer/controller inhalers are typically brown. However, this is not a rule; some blue inhalers contain long-acting beta-agonist preventer medications such as fluticasone (Flovent).
If you’re taking any other type of inhaler, be sure to check the label to make sure it’s the right one for your condition. Some newer inhalers use hydrofluoroalkane propellants, which are 1000 times more potent as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. These have a much bigger carbon footprint than CFC inhalers, which were phase out in 1987.
Healthcare is responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and NHS inhalers contribute 13% of that total. Improving diagnosis and ensuring people only get the medicines they need will cut that bill, as well as cutting costs and helping patients stay healthy and out of hospital.
