Salbutamol is the blue reliever inhaler. It opens the airways within minutes, which makes it feel like the most important inhaler you have — but needing it frequently is a signal that the preventer side of your treatment is not doing its job, and that is what actually keeps you out of hospital.
Relieving the symptoms of asthma and COPD — wheeze, breathlessness, chest tightness and cough — and preventing exercise-induced symptoms when used beforehand.
It relaxes the muscle around the airways. It does nothing about the underlying inflammation, which is what preventer inhalers treat.
One or two puffs when needed, or as prescribed. Shake the inhaler, breathe out gently, seal your lips around the mouthpiece, start a slow deep breath in as you press, then hold your breath for about ten seconds. Wait 30 seconds before a second puff.
A spacer makes a real difference to how much reaches the lungs, and is worth using — not just for children. Ask us to check your technique; poor technique is extremely common and easily corrected in two minutes.
Keep track of how full the inhaler is, and reorder before it runs out. Never be without a working reliever.
Call 999 if you are struggling to breathe or speak in full sentences, if your reliever is not helping or is needed more often than every four hours, if your lips or fingers look blue, or if you feel exhausted from the effort of breathing.
Shakiness or tremor, a fast heartbeat, headache and muscle cramps are common, particularly at higher doses, and usually pass within a short time.
Get medical advice for a persistent fast or irregular heartbeat, chest pain, or if the inhaler makes your breathing worse immediately after use.
Store below 25°C and away from direct heat. Cold inhalers work less well — warm it in your hand rather than shaking it hard if it has been in a cold car.
Wash the plastic casing and spacer regularly, and let them air dry rather than rubbing them, which builds up static.
Salbutamol can be used in pregnancy — uncontrolled asthma is far riskier to a pregnancy than the inhaler.
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