Asthma and COPD: Using your Metered Dose Inhaler

Drug delivery through aerosol is an important part of Asthma and COPD treatment. To use your metered dose inhaler (MDI), first talk to your health professional to be sure that you ar e using your MDI correctly.

Pressurized Metered-Dose Inhalers, currently the most commonly used, delivers a measured amount of medication n and produce excellent results when used correctly.

Metered dose inhaler passes the medicine through a nozzle to form a spray that comes out through the mouthpiece. Metered dose inhalers deliver high concentration of medication directly into your lungs if taken correctly. The spray comes out with less force, is warmer, and has a slightly different taste. It is not felt as much in the throat when inhaled.

Several different types of medicines are available as metered-dose inhalers, including:

• Bronchodilators (ProAir HFA, Proventil HFA, Ventolin HFA, or Maxair)
• Inhaled steroids (Flovent HFA, Pulmicort, Qvar)
• Combinations of a long-acting bronchodilator and an inhaled steroid (ADVAIR HFA, Symbicort)
• Ipratropium bromide (Atrovent HFA)

A Spacer or Holding Chamber device should always be used to effectively administer the medication. Spacers or Holding Chambers make it easier for you to use a Metered-Dose Inhaler and breathe in the medication.

Due to a static charge, the spacer/holding chamber must be primed with 8-10 puffs of a Placebo MDI or Albuterol MDI. If this is not done prior to use, the medication will be attracted to the sides and will not be delivered into the lungs. This priming only needs to be done once.

Many patients don't use their MDI correctly, though. When a MDI is used incorrectly, symptoms may persist and worsen. This may lead to a severe asthma episode.

So you may visit www.use-inhalers.com and learn the correct inhaler technique on how to use your metered dose inhaler with spacer, practice using a webcam with the onscreen instructor and get real time visual feedback and get maximum benefit from your inhaled medicine to control your Asthma and COPD better.

Every time you visit your doctor, demonstrate your inhaler technique to make sure you're using it correctly. Over time, many people get bad habits that affect use of MDIs.