Dry Powder Asthma Inhalers
Several entries ago, we mentioned that there are two kinds of asthma inhalers. We’ve already discussed the first type, the metered-dose inhaler. It’s time you got acquainted with the second type, namely the dry powder inhaler.
Dry powder inhalers (DPIs for short) don’t use chemical propellants to release the medication, unlike metered-dose inhalers (MDIs). DPIs, as their name implies, use finely divided powder that is inhaled by the user more rapidly than he/she would with MDIs. A standard amount of the powder dose must be placed for the user to inhale, and this medication is directly delivered by DPIs into the lungs.
When using a DPI, you don’t need to coordinate the triggering (actuation) of the device with your inhalation. As such, dry powder inhalers are considered by some people to be easier to use than MDIs. However, some asthmatics complain that dry powder inhalers trigger coughs. Also, spacers can’t be used with DPIs.
Types of dry powder inhalers include powder tube inhalers and powder disk inhalers. The latter can be single or multiple dose DPIs. Registered trademarks of DPIs include the Turbuhaler (an easy-to-use, tube-shaped inhaler), the Diskus (has 60 doses), and the Diskhaler. The last one uses a disk containing small pouches of powder medication. To release the dose, the Diskhaler punctures the pouch.
Usually, asthma inhalers come in MDI form, but more and more people are using DPIs.
Next: How to properly use a dry powder inhaler
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This entry was posted on Monday, June 5th, 2006 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Asthma Inhalers. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
June 5th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
[...] Asthmatics like me occasionally, if not frequently, suffer from episodes of wheezing and shortness of breath. One of the first things we reach for is the asthma inhaler, a pocket-sized device used as relief medication. It is a vital tool in an asthmatic’s struggle against his/her illness, so much so that I once referred to it as “a certified object of idolatry for asthmatics”. According to a CNN/Mayo Clinic article, a variety of inhalers exist, with two major categories: metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) and dry powder inhalers. Most asthma inhalers are MDIs and fast-acting bronchodilators, defined as “medication intended to improve bronchial airflow” [3]. In MDIs, the medication is stored within a pressurized canister. According to Wikipedia: The canister is attached to a plastic, hand-operated pump. The standard Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) on activating releases a fixed dose of medicine in aerosol form. [...]
June 8th, 2006 at 2:46 am
[...] Asthma Inhalers Central « Dry Powder Asthma Inhalers [...]
June 12th, 2006 at 12:31 am
[...] As someone who’s been using metered-dose inhalers for most of my life (beginning with my pediatrician’s prescription way way back), I was kind of dumbfounded to know that I could’ve used, let’s say, a dry powder inhaler just as well! [...]