What is the difference between the albuterol in my new nebulizer and the albuterol in my rescue inhaler?

I am speaking in general here, this is not medical advice specifically for you as you should ask your health care provider….BUT albuterol in your nebulizer and in your rescue inhaler is the same medicine with a different delivery method. Research indicates they both work equally well, experience says the nebulizer works better than the inhaler when the patient is having an asthma exacerbation. Not everyone has a nebulizer, usually only pateints with asthma bad enough to warrant it.

Typically the rescue inhaler is used on a “regular basis” meaning you carry it in your purse for a “flare up” and the nebulizer is researched for the inhaler does not seem to be helping enough. The inhaler is more convenient, too.

The guidelines state that a patient who is using their rescue inhaler more than twice a week does not have his/her asthma under good control and probably needs preventative treatment and should be re-evaluated by their practitioner.
The reason the nebulizer “works better” in theory is that it delivers the medicine in a mist and it is the mist that helps open up a person’s lungs whereas the inhaler is an aerosol (if it has ‘HFA’ in the name it is environmentally friendly without CFCs) and it is easier to lose some of the medicine. Technique is a variable with the inhaler. If you cough you could miss some of the medicine etc.

You should take your rescue inhaler and your nebulizer as they have been prescribed but technically speaking it is the same medicine and the inhaler can be prescribed every 4-6 hours as needed, but your practitioner knows what dose is appropriate for your condition. (It can be used for several different medical conditions relating to the lungs.)

The biggest caution is that patients often wait too long to get help when they can’t breath and if you are taking your inhaler a lot you should call your practitioner. People have died from asthma from waiting too long or not taking their medication correctly (for example taking preventative medicine instead of rescue medicine).

Because asthma has two mechanisms, constriction and inflammation that cause the patient difficulty breathing it is important both mechanisms be treated. Albuterol is a bronchodilator so it helps reverse the constriction, but it does nothing for inflammation (that is where the inhaled corticosteroids come in). Chronic inflammation if untreated can cause permanent lung damage called mottling. The way I describe it is it is similar to scar tissue in that it does not work like the original tissue from the damage.

Symptoms alone are not a good indicator as to how much inflammation is impairing lung function. You need to have a breathing test that measures your lung capacity. It is called spirometry and your practitioner should have it done a coupld of times a year. This is an objective, mearurable way to know for sure how the lungs are working. Of course illness or an asthma attack can affect the results.

Another way to measure lung capacity in less specific way is to use a peak flow meter. It can show you when your breathing is declining so you can take steps before you are danger. It is good to know what your “score” is when you are healthy and then when you get an illness or are exposed to something that triggers the asthma you can monitor your progress.

Sometimes when patients get an infection it can trigger their asthma and that is a good time to use the nebulizer but everyday type occurances….like exercise (for exercise-induced asthma), allergens (pollen, dust, mold etc) or whatever usually respond to the inhaler.

As I said you should ask your practitioner or nurse about your specific condition, whether it is asthma or something else, and this is just general information for the purposes of discussion and is not intended to diagnose or treat.