talkhealth forums

I'm Joe's mum and he's recently started to wheeze. I took him to the gp who thinks he has asthma. So she's given me an inhaler which i have to use with a spacer. How do I know whether Joe's actually breathing the medicine in? So far, he's had the inhaler only a couple of weeks, I can't say I've seen a huge difference. Anybody have any ideas?

How is Joe getting on now? I was given a spacer for my inhalers when I first suffered with asthma because i was coughing so much that I couldn't inhale properly. I was told that with the spacer you naturally inhale it. It did however take me a couple of months to fully feel the benefit.

Did his doctor show you how to properly administer the inhaler to him? Once you learn how to use an inhaler, it's pretty easy. You should be able to tell that he inhaled the medicine when his wheezing subsides. I know when my daughter was that young, we used a nebulizer it was easier to administer than a inhaler.

Hi I haven't been on here for a while but Joe has now been using the spacer for some time now and we all seem to be getting to grips with it. His wheezing is much improved. However should i be concerned about him using a spacer, should i try to wean him onto just the inhaler so he gets to grips with that whilst he is still young or should we stick with what he is comfortable with?

I was pleased to read that Joe's wheezing has improved. A spacer is by far the best delivery system for administering inhaled medication so I would not try to use an inhaler on its own. When an inhaler is put directly into a child's mouth most of the puff of medicine lands on the tongue or back of the mouth and is swallowed . Spacers are holding chambers that allow the child to breathe the medication directly into the lungs making it a much more effective method of delivering inhaled medication. Even adults benefit from using a spacer. Spacers also help reduce the possibility of side effects from higher doses of preventer medicine and have also been shown to be just as effective as a nebuliser when used during an asthma attack. A spacer with a mask can usually be changed to a spacer with a mouth piece when a child is between 2 and 3 years of age. Spacers are becoming smaller so are more portable and can easily fit into a school bag.

Thanks for your reply. I am actually quite relieved as it is easy to use the spacer and he knows what to expect with it. I have heard that inhalers can cause oral thrush. How likely is this and does a spacer prevent it?

Thanks again

High doses of inhaled steroid can be responsible for causing oral thrush. Taking the inhaled medication via a spacer does reduce this problem as it prevents the dose hitting the tongue or back of the throat. Rinsing the mouth out with water is also recommended after taking a steroid inhaler. Taking a low dose steroid inhaler through a spacer will usually cause no such problems.

Thanks, that puts my mind at rest about that.

Hya,

I have a 2 years old son. He had chest infections all the time. The GP gave him antibiotics, which doesn't really helped. I took him in the salt cave, I read an article about it. They have a cave just for the kids with a telly and lots of toys, it was fun! You breathing the salty air inside your respiratory system, this is how it can help. Of course they treating children's with asthma as well, the first session was free. I thought maybe it's something you can try, because it's drug free. Hope my advise been useful. Take care!