If you suffer from chronic lung disease, such as COPD, you more than likely have a nice collection of inhalers and medications you take on a regular basis. Different colors, different dosages, different types of inhalers… How well do you know these “friends” you spend so much time with? Let’s start at the beginning, controlling your symptoms. Maintenance Medications.
Maintenance medications are used to help keep your symptoms under control. You might also hear these referred to as “Controller Medications”. The key to successful management lies here. Maintenance medications should be taken regularly, when scheduled, and will be taken on a regular, daily basis. Depending upon which ones you take, you could be scheduled to take them in the morning, evening, or both. If you suffer from asthma, the most important controller medication you will take is an inhaled corticosteroid. If you suffer from COPD, the most important controller medication you will take is a long acting bronchodilator (airway opener). Your rescue breather is referred to as a short-term bronchodilator, your controller medications are referred to as long-term bronchodilators. Remember, the number one rule for everyone… KEEP YOUR RESCUE BREATHER WITH YOU ALWAYS. You never know what triggers you might be exposed to and what could cause your airways to tighten up.
Now that we understand what bronchodilators are, let’s list a few for familiarity sake. You have undoubtedly heard of a few of these.
Short acting Beta Agonists (rescue medications) may include Albuterol (also known an Ventolin or Proventil), Fenoterol, and Terbutaline. Key to quick or fast acting meds: they work within minutes and last for up to 4-6 hours.
Short acting Anticholinergics (not used for rescue, but rather a maintenance med that is used more frequently during the day) may include Ipratropium Bromide (aka Atrovent, Apovent, Aerovent).
Long acting Beta Agonists (maintenance or controller medications) may include Formoterol 12+ hours, Salmeterol 12+ hours, Serevent 12+ hours, Symbicort 12+ hours, Foradil 12 hours, Indicaterol 24 hours, and Tiotropium Bromide (Spiriva) 24 hours.
Long acting Anticholinergics may include Tiotropium Bromide, aka Spireva.
Some medications are called combination medications. These are medications that have a beta agonist and anticholinergic in one. The may include Fenoterol/Ipratropium, aka Berodual, Albuterol/Ipratropium, aka DuoNeb, Combivent.
The next division of medications are anti-inflammatory medications. These do not give immediate relief and are not a rescue breather. They are a maintenance medication to be used regularly to control symptoms. Many of these are inhaled corticosteroids. Steroids act directly on the site of contact to reduce inflammation and manage your airways. Inhaled corticosteroids have fewer side effects than systemic steroids, and are a good medication to use under some conditions. The list of inhaled corticosteroids may include Beclomethasone dipropionate, Triamcinolone acetonide, Flunisolide, Fluticasone propionate, Budenoside, Fluticasone propionate/Salmeterol, Mometasone, QVAR, Axmacort, AeroBid and AeroBid-M, Flovent and Flovent rotadisk, Pulmicort, and Advair.
When you take a variety of medications it is important to know which order to take them in. Inhalers are no exception. If you take a combination of inhalers, remember this rule. Take the bronchodilator first, then the corticosteroid or combination medication. This accomplishes two things. First, if you take a look at the type of medications you have and the nature of those meds, you will understand that if you take a bronchodilator prior to other medications you airways will be more “open” for delivery of the secondary medications. Second, if you take your corticosteroid after your inhaler you are done with your inhalers and ready to rinse your mouth out. This is an important thing to remember. Rinsing your mouth reduces the possibility of developing thrush, an overgrowth of yeast in your mouth. This can be very uncomfortable, taste bad, and sometimes get to the point of pain. It creates a white film in your mouth and on your tongue. It can be very difficult to recover from and take a long time to get over. It is best to be proactive and do what you can do to avoid it. So, bronchodilator first, wait up to 15 minutes for optimal opening of your airways, then steroidal medication, then rinse your mouth with lukewarm water and spit it out. Don’t swallow it and deliver that medication directly into your digestive system, as the same situation may arise somewhere along your intestines if you do. Inhale. Rinse. Spit.
Last, but certainly not least, make a list of all your meds and their scheduled times. Include in that what type of medications they are, so when you have one of those “forgetful” moments you can easily solve it by simply reviewing your list. Provide your pharmacist and physicians (yes, all of them) with this list so your healthcare can be as streamlined as possible, and you are right on top of your game. Happy breathing!
simple-alpha.com
246jx
woolymammothdesign
aztech
kopergietery
jackstreet
11che
talkingeyesmedia
madebyfire
dbjr
morvansommetsetgrandslacs
zukerman
arcc
dggaocheng
ua
ikuhaku
wxeic
pirati
octc
drnona
enuma
1001casinoonline
antidot
european
cinema-life
gzjgpf
proaktiv-management
edelman
northrim
longwoodevents
btfollow
kredit-ds
yxgapp
lovelessoutdooradventures
redhistoria
grill-experte
kinetico
thesatellitela
mem
communityactionsuffolk
teamtravelsource-sport
zbscjx
218tv
mvngp4reb2
lsr
ingenico
periodikos
operationsupplydrop
limmatwelle
dfcugroup
unipro
chemille-en-anjou
jalic
elnaturalista
subwaykids
d1ewi7906ai22m
myrestart
furora
marena
dol
2ez
beaconhillstaffing
pkulab
ivyclinics
vonews
droiddoes
ager
phpdatabase
condat-lubricants
saku-parada
rctiming
ovotv
afrohistorama
aketetsu
gyrosproteintechnologies
chargereseller
kuk
oktmo
626261c
maybelline
duneadviser
sunitechsolutions
devopsguys
amo-inc
carlislebrass
abc-mallorca
jibx
coastalpines
marrakesh-desert-tours
artiset
sirionlabs
kranok
sut
davidtaylorwebmedia
tvi
ladyboytube
getvish
epizone-eu
stoffwindel-akademie
domodeco
anibi
merrimacknh
pianoeducation
exporthub
buv
ectaco-store
telacu
ophpropil
sndk
shadowban
crazykarl
urbanitartufi
visitoxnard
counterwallet
paavaniayurveda
krwebs
maxell
hydrogene
searchadvertising
iapa
pantsstore
adirondacklifemag
predominantlyorange
qinfomedia
bookmyclass
orangecountyanimalservicesfl
aquasolution
orangecountysigncompany
orcaa
eip-agri
czechdecoteam
bmspaf
olivespa
octordle
xylifresh
doyledigital
atpvitaltesting
chaletviewlodge
ensika
tosemjaz
poker
yunnan-kunming
rc48
johnleeindia
neilbarrett
steelpier
vivirenelpoblado
mmguardian
stagingsavings
oecdchina
therunningawards
fries-itsystems
eforce
livechatvegasgg
mms
carteam
machine-com
kerr
buildmysites
creativelunch
csigroup
obtmachine
photosounder
dickerhof
scholtenbaijings
charliepalmersteak
besydney
cervim
eurotherm
sonsoz
zyciewluksusie
radmin
webclimb
breweryhistory
roninoone
undnu
llqzj
kmin
florence-l
mein-itzehoe
ijese
studiodada
tippelstraat
vestingmuseum
cbm
caesarea
houtenkerstboom
dkxo
zue
masskillers
watles
roobykon
koode
cchobby
haulfrynholidays
websoc
eigenwijzereizen
shbcmx
svuonline
pixelspread
dzcd36
invest-mining
wushan
qcodemag
micool
workbrighter
optilyz
sitec
meierlian
climbercontest
aclas
songkhoe24h
gil
freetuts
proprojeffbad
napa
scoa
biserwp
pspride
mudanzasybodegajebogota
domhut
wholesalemarine
cr-lorraine
omoricabarlinek
bitsclick
vintage-mustang
sfmobiliteit
bilimtap
stdevelopers
buildacloud
mt-hacks
catnet
byd
civicdinners
depressedcakeshop
dutchcocreation
intility
telkomspeedy
crearradio
kaixinzuqin
figafacts
myuplink
minerva-ebm
xn--3kqvs447ab16b
getwhiplash
dr-logy
foocafe
parc-naturel-aubrac
creativedesign
pindan
quona
1coxplate
musicgallery
cbpabp
rockradio
drue
szfengyuzhe
globalonepay
fatmascara
matrace-mabo
wings
kostkafootbike
svg-ms
gpsauge
bmp-group
nellymoser
emersoncolonialtheatre
shuangdeng
ibiy
kiertomaa
soul-manifestation
uaejjf
job-offer
discoverthreejs
sonifex
biot-med
nami-nami
filha
galyonkin
funlive
iwjv
uminomanabi
alex
costestimator
monitor
arnhembitcoinstad
snappymaths
mattioliwoods
xingdals
cam
elidourado
eccoleather
wxhysh
fachuebersetzungen
nebraskapassport
skkb
dn42
mickiofsweden
europcar
hd766
sfr
eternus
rr-jihozapad
victorypointgames
mcsite
obrassoconcerts
tendersdirect
mittelschulvorbereitung
bichosdecampo
deetjens
glocalnet
dapper
artseverywhere
suki
nashville-mdha
resiliencealimentaire
wyzww
xn--90aabm1csa
sandpalmdoors
