Beclometasone is a preventer inhaler. It does nothing you can feel in the moment, which is precisely why people stop taking it — and stopping it is the commonest reason asthma gets worse. It treats the underlying airway inflammation that the blue reliever never touches.
Preventing asthma symptoms and attacks by reducing inflammation in the airways. Some products combine it with a long-acting reliever — those are used differently, so follow your own instructions.
It is not for treating an attack. Keep using it every day, including when you feel completely well.
Usually one or two puffs twice a day, or as prescribed. Shake, breathe out gently, seal your lips around the mouthpiece, take a slow deep breath in as you press, then hold your breath for about ten seconds. Wait 30 seconds between puffs.
A spacer improves delivery significantly and reduces side effects in the mouth. Ask us to check your technique — poor technique is very common and fixable in a couple of minutes.
Rinse your mouth with water and spit it out after every dose. This is the single best way to avoid oral thrush and a hoarse voice, the two most common side effects.
Different beclometasone brands are not equivalent puff for puff. If your inhaler looks different from usual, check with us before using it.
Oral thrush (white patches in the mouth), a hoarse voice and a sore throat are the common ones, and rinsing after use largely prevents them. Come and see us if thrush develops — it is easily treated.
At high doses over long periods, inhaled steroids can have wider effects, which is why the dose is kept to the lowest that keeps control.
Children on regular inhaled steroids should have their growth monitored as part of routine asthma review — that is normal practice, not a sign of concern.
Have an asthma review at least yearly, and take your inhalers with you. Ask for a written asthma action plan if you do not have one — people with a plan end up in hospital less often.
Needing your blue reliever three or more times a week means control is not good enough. That is a preventer conversation, not a reliever one.
1 Lyng Lane, West Bromwich B70 7RW · Mon–Fri 8:30am–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm · 0121 500 5756
Ask our pharmacist →We use essential cookies to make the site work — things like your basket, sign-in and secure checkout. With your permission we’d also like to use analytics cookies to understand how the site is used and improve it. See our cookie policy.
