Asthma inhalers types

Since there are various asthma inhalers available on the market, it might not be easy to make a choice when buying one. Not all the people who have asthma will react in the same way, and while some types will work better for someone, for someone else some other type of inhalers might be more helpful. But it is like that for almost all medications, so there is no need to worry even if a person has to try out more than one. Among the most frequently used types of asthma inhalers are meter dose inhalers with and without a spacer and dry powder inhalers.

Meter dose inhalers can have counters that give an insight into the remaining doses, but those without the counters require keeping a track of the used doses. The parts that they consist of are a canister with the medication and a boot into which the canister needs to be pushed in order for the medication to be released. Metered dose inhalers with a spacer are more practical to use because the one who uses it has more time to inhale the entire dosage of the medication slowly due to the fact that the medication is held in a spacer after it is released. A spacer can be a part of the inhaler, or it can be a separate part, which can be used only when and if a person wants it. Dry powder inhalers release the medication when the person takes a deep and fast breath and that is what makes them different from other types. There are several types of this type of inhaler, and some of them are a dry powder tube inhaler and a powder disk inhaler.

When choosing the inhaler, it is also important to pay attention to the ingredients. Some contain corticosteroids, which help in decreasing the inflammation; some contain a substance that works as a stabilizer of mast cells, thus preventing the release of histamine in the lungs; but there are also those that contain levalbuterol, a substance that affects the muscles in the lungs to relax and bronchioles to dilate. Bronchodilators are also helpful in those who suffer from asthma, and in some cases, those that are short acting are a better choice, while in others it is better to choose those that are long acting. They also have different substances as ingredients, and it is important to check it in advance.