Dry Powder Inhaler, How to Use

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KEY POINTS

• Most asthma medicines are given with an inhaler that lets your child breathe medicine directly in to the lungs.
• If your child uses more than one inhaled medicine, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist which your child should use first. Use inhaled medicines 10 minutes apart from each other.
• Follow the instructions that come in the medicine package. If you do not understand how to help your child use this medicine, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist to explain.

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Most asthma medicines are given with an inhaler that lets your child breathe medicine directly in to the lungs. There are different kinds of inhalers. Metered-dose inhalers contain a gas that helps the medicine get in to the lungs. Dry powder inhalers do not contain a gas. Instead, your child will breathe in the medicine with a quick deep breath while your child’s lips are on the inhaler.

Many children find the dry powder inhaler easy to use because they don't have to pump the canister while breathing in. Your child just inhales quickly and forcefully with the inhaler in his or her mouth. Because dry power inhalers need a forceful deep breath to work, they may not work well for young children.

Several different types of medicines are available as dry powder inhalers, including bronchodilator medicine to open airways and make breathing easier, and steroid medicine to lessen irritation and swelling of the airways. Some inhalers come with the medicine already inside. Others use a capsule that you put in the inhaler right before you use it.

Dry powder inhalers are not used with spacers (a small tube or bag that holds the medicine while you breathe it in to your lungs).

Read and follow the instructions that come in the medicine package. If you do not understand how to use this medicine, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist to explain.

The basic way to use a dry powdered inhaler is:

1. Your child should turn his or her head away from the inhaler, and breathe out to the end of a normal breath. It is important that your child not breathe in to the inhaler. Breathing in to a dry powder inhaler can clog it.
2. Your child should put the mouthpiece between the lips and close the lips tightly around the mouthpiece.
3. Your child should breathe in through the mouth as deeply as possible. Your child should not breathe in through the nose.
4. Your child should hold his or her breath and remove the mouthpiece from the mouth. It’s best for your child to hold the breath for 5 to 10 seconds, or as long as is comfortable. This gives the medicine time to settle in your child’s airways and lungs.
5. After your child turns his or her head away from the inhaler, your child should breathe out slowly. Your child should not breathe in to the inhaler.

Keep the inhaler dry. Do not wash it. You may use a dry cloth to wipe it clean.

If possible, have your child brush teeth and rinse his or her mouth with clear water after taking this medicine. The water your child rinses with should be spit out.

If your child uses more than one inhaled medicine, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist which your child should use first. Use inhaled medicines 10 minutes apart from each other.

Do not store an inhaler in places that may get hot or cold, such as in a car, or in a damp place such as a bathroom.