Asthma spacer is a device which improves dosage effectiveness of aerosol asthma inhalers. This is an add-on device. This has a special chamber that receives aerosol before inhaling it. These devices serves the following functions:
- This overcomes the difficulties in coordinating timing of inhaler actuation and also inhalation.
- This slows down the delivery speed of aerosol into mouth such that impact of drugs is less in throat.
An aerosol device is used by most inhalers to deliver medicine. Patient places an inhaler end inside the mouth and presses down on the other end. This causes medication spray directly into mouth. Usually, patients are suggested to inhale deeply to make sure that medicine reaches lungs. Pressurized medicine sprays out quickly, often coating back of mouth and also throat where it is swallowed later. This prevents much dose from reaching lungs and leads to repeat the dose very frequently.
An asthma spacer is a metal or plastic tube which is attached to an inhaler end. The patient first fires inhaler into spacer and then breathes through the other end of spacer. This lowers speed of medicine, that allows more medicine to inhale properly into lungs.
Some medical experts suggest that elderly or young asthma patients use spacer to increase medicine effect. Using inhalers regularly needs co-ordinations that young and infirm patients may not achieve. Also, patients suffering from serious side effects of asthma medicines use asthma spacer to avoid repeated doses.
DISADVANTAGES OF ASTHMA SPACER:
The following are some disadvantages of an asthma spacer.
- This may be bulky and limits portability.
- Spacers along the inhalation path causes medicine to deposit before reaching the lungs. Patient receives less dosage than the prescribed dose.
