What is the difference between Albuterol and Alupent for quick acting asthma relief?

Question

I hove both Albuterol and Alupent in my medicine cabinet. My doctor didn't give me clear directions about which to take. The pharmacist said that both are interchangeable. Is this true? What is the difference?

Answer 1

Matt's right. Albuterol has less cardiac side effects.

Answer 2

To make it simple, They both do the same thing. The way I understand it is, Alupent was first on the market for asthma relief and had many side effects like racing heart and overall jittery feeling. Then came along albuterol. Albuterol did the same as Alupent on opening the airways and had less side effects.

To add to this, now there is Levalbuterol (Xopenex) that has less side effect then albuterol.

If I were you, I would use the one that did the best for asthma relief and had the least side effects.

Good luck

Answer 3

Both are considered quick-acting beta agonists. Which one works better for you when you need it? That's the question that will answer which one you should take. And the answer to that question is different for everyone. For example, albuterol works best for me when I need something, but some kinds of albuterol (Proventil HFA, for instance) don't work as well as others do (ProAir HFA, for example). So then, something else to think about is whether it's just the medication or the brand of it.

In theory, it doesn't matter what you use, but in practice, it can make all the difference in the world when you're having an exacerbation.

Answer 4

Alupent