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Original poster

Brown inhaler - finished?

26 replies

PrettyCandles · 09/12/2009 14:10

How do you know when the inhaler has run out or is running out? More particularly, how will my 7yo dd know?

OP posts:
cheesesarnie · 09/12/2009 14:11

shake it,you should be able to hear.if not spray it-is it coming out normally?

Original poster
PrettyCandles · 09/12/2009 14:23

It seems to be working as normal to me. But she says that it tastes different, and it has started making her cough when she breathes it. She says it only makes her cough when it stars tasting different.

I calculated, given the dosage she takes (1 puff twice a day), that it should last about 3 months. So I always write the date on the new canister when we start it. But they seem to be 'lasting' less and less. This one is only about 6w old.

OP posts:
PotPourri · 09/12/2009 14:25

Just ask doc for a new one just in case. Shoudl be able to feel it when you shake, but it is not guaranteed to give hte right dose after a certain amount of puffs.

cheesesarnie · 09/12/2009 14:26

hmmm not sure then.im not asthmatic,im only going by ds2 whos 3-hes unable to offer advise.is she shaking it well before using?

Original poster
PrettyCandles · 09/12/2009 14:38

I put in the repeat prescription request today. I wonder whether they'll query why I requesting a new one so often.

OP posts:
alypaly · 10/12/2009 09:59

is she test puffing it before she takes her dose. The inhalers are not normally faulty and do contain a measured amount of doses...it sounds like she is presssing it twice

PrettyCandlesandTinselToo · 10/12/2009 19:53

No, we give her the dose.

Is the change of taste that she reports significant? Would that normally indicate to an inhaler-user that their inhaler was running low?

And is it normal to cough when inhaling? She uses a spacer.

PrettyCandlesandTinselToo · 10/12/2009 19:55

She has also become very bunged-up with catarrh, which is the first thing to happen whenever we try to stop using the inhaler, and which clears up as soon as we start using it again.

Katymac · 10/12/2009 19:59

DD (12) says it tastes the same all the time - but it can taste funny if she has a cold

DD also says remember to rinse out your DD's moth after she takes it as it is important

PrettyCandlesandTinselToo · 10/12/2009 22:05

Maybe the taste is caused by the catarrh, then, rather than the catarrh being caused by a diminished dose.

Why is it important to rinse? We give dd her last dose of the day in bed.

(Thanks, Katymac's dd )

Katymac · 10/12/2009 22:13

It is really really important to rinse the steroid off the back of your throat - DD(now she is 12) has been asked to gargle & spit

TBH I can't remember why (could be causing thrush? maybe not)

But it is important enough that Papworth who see my DH mentioned it to us for DH & then asked us about DD & did she gargle? (& they don't even see DD)

Dumbledoresgirl · 10/12/2009 22:19

Gosh I have never heard that about rinsing the mouth Katymac. My ds2 is also 12 (well, in a few days) and he has never done that (though he is supposed to take his doses before brushing his teeth so maybe that is the same idea?)

We were told he should always use the spacer with the brown inhaler though - does that make a difference? Might your dd's spacer need cleaning PC?

SleightiesChick · 10/12/2009 22:20

Yes, I have been told it can cause thrush too, and to always rinse and brush teeth after using it. So try and move the dose a bit earlier to just before she brushes.

Maybe she is taking two puffs. I would just request a new one. I have asked for new inhalers quite often at times when my asthma's been very bad and have never been questioned. If anything it will come up at her asthma review but I've never been refused a prescription.

Katymac · 10/12/2009 22:24

Yes the spacer should be washed - & if it gets very manky you can just get a new one

DH (& DD)has rinsed for years the gargling came up just last month

dollybird · 10/12/2009 22:26

My DH is asthmatic and he finds none of his inhalers last as long as you'd expect them too. He can tell when they're running out as, even though they sound like there's something still in them, they just don't work as well. He also would suddenly get extremely lethargic (he's generally a very active person) all of a sudden and he's discovered this is because taking steroids in the inhalers affect your bodies natural production of them. So, when the inhaler starts to run out, you're not getting enough steroids, and it seriously affects your energy level. He also rinses his mouth out as he got thrush on his tongue - it wasn't pleasant, so def worth doing HTH

dollybird · 10/12/2009 22:27

Oh, and DH gets two inhalers at once and you only pay one prescription charge. they have never questioned it.

PrettyCandlesandTinselToo · 11/12/2009 14:37

Right, we'll change her evening puff to bath time from tonight! Thanks for that.

I do wash her spacer every so often, and then release a few puffs into it to coat it, so that subequent doses all go into dd, rathre than onto the spacer (can't remember where I learned about that - certainly not from the GP, poss from MN? ).

GhoulsAreLoud · 11/12/2009 14:40

Wash the inhaler casing too.

Often mine feel like they're running out but there's just a bit of grit or whatever in there.

SkipToMyLou · 11/12/2009 14:43

What we did was to keep a check on how many puffs DS had - I think there are 200 in a brown inhaler, can't remember exactly but it says on the box 'x metered doses'. Keep a tally on the calendar or something, that way you know when to order another one in too.

SkipToMyLou · 11/12/2009 14:46

Oops, just read the rest of the thread! I always supervised DS at that age tbh, to make sure he took it properly.

PrettyCandlesandTinselToo · 11/12/2009 14:47

I do that, SkipTML, that's why I'm puzzled that dd thinks it's running out, and that this happens quite frequently. I write teh start date on the canister, so I can check up instantly.

RainRainGoAway · 11/12/2009 14:49

Just to say that my surgery has swapped my Becotide for something similar called 'Clenil' which is CFC free apparently.

It is like trying to inhale paint stripper and I always cough after. I am booking an appointment to get it changed to something else.
Could that be it?

AuntieMaggie · 11/12/2009 14:58

Ditto my surgery has changed my brown inhaler for something else (think it's also clenil)and I have to use a spacer to stop it making me vomit!

Yes you should have a drink or rinse your mouth after taking inhaler because of the thrush and dry mouth thing.

I find everything tastes funny when I get mucusy but check to see if they've changed her inhaler too.

SkipToMyLou · 11/12/2009 16:06

In a similar vein, DS was switched to Fluticasone (orange) from becotide, I thought they were phasing it out? It does sound weird they keep seizing up on you, can't say it's ever happened in 8 years! Weird, can't really suggest anything other than what you're doing, sorry!

PrettyCandlesandTinselToo · 11/12/2009 17:14

Clenil is what she's always had. At first it didn't seem to cause her to cough, only when it was running out. It's only in the past 6m or so that she's been coughing.