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The Two Main Varieties of Asthma InhalersA device used for treating an asthma condition is called the asthma inhaler, which usually contains an asthma medication (mostly a drug) that can treat asthma symptoms. The most commonly used asthma inhalers are the metered dose inhalers. These inhalers contain a carrier substance that can suspend the drug, pressurize the system, as well as carry the drug in small drops or particles to be able to reach the small airways present in a person's lungs.
Until recently, the metered dose
inhaler was full of CFC, which was the propellant as well as solvent used for medicating the asthma patient. There is now a gradual change towards using halocarbons instead. It has also been found that a variety of beclomethasone inhalers which had increased absorption as well as improved size of the particles had improved potency to a high of 180 percent.
Dry Powder Inhalers
There are other asthma inhalers that involve using micronised powder packages. These packages may be used in single dose quantities contained in blisters, or compressed pellets that are mechanically freed as well as suspended and inhaled into the lungs directly using the patient's own breath. Such asthma inhalers cost more than the metered dose inhalers and suffer from a drawback in that when under attack, the patient may not be able to generate sufficient airflow to draw in the medication. They are, however, not likely to affect the ozone layer.
An asthma inhaler will usually contain a reservoir at the bottom to hold the drug powder. To load a single dose into the inhalation chamber, a twist grip needs to be twisted back and forth, and a numerical dose counter provides the patient with information on the remaining doses left. When the background color turns to red it indicates that there are only twenty doses left. Newer asthma inhalers have been found to deliver uniform doses every time it is used.
While comparing the powder inhaler with the aerosol inhaler, it may be noted that the powder inhaler may prove to be more effective. In powder inhalers, the powder is able to reach the airways better than the sprayed aerosol, which often gets dispersed in the mouth itself. However, the dry powder inhalers are becoming obsolete, since they may only deliver less than ten percent of the powder to the lungs, while newer versions of the asthma inhaler are being designed to provide as much as thirty percent of the drug, deep into the lungs.
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- Asthma