My child takes Pulmicort inhaler daily with a spacer made of metal, but the GP said they are not longer available and replaced it with a plastic one. Can I continue using the metal spacer or is better to replace it for the plastic one? which of the two is better?
2007-01-05 00:59:29 · 2 answers · asked by susi 3 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Respiratory Diseases
It doesn't really matter. If you think one is cleaner, go with the cleaner one.
There has even been a study of a commercially available spacer versus a spacer made out of a 20 oz Soft Drink Bottle with a hole cut-out at the bottom. The result of that study was no difference in peak flow change between the store-bought versus the improvised Soft Drink Bottle Spacer. I'd like to cite the study, but I think it's been more than 10 years.
The only advantage the store-bought spacer had is it had a little harmonica which would make noise if you sucked in too fast. When you inhale too quickly, the medication cannot change direction fast enough and slams to the back of your throat. This in-turn reduces the amount of medication that actually makes it to the blood-stream. So please, exhale fully... then take a SLOW deep breath.
With MDI's, technique is everything.
Wikipedia has good "general" information listed under "Metered Dose Inhaler" and "Asthma Spacer". If not, try a Google Search.
2007-01-07 18:04:56 · answer #1 · answered by sam_of_losangeles 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
better with the plastic one, as they are replacing the metal ones. also better for hygein
2007-01-05 01:02:42 · answer #2 · answered by paul f 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋