Salbutamol for inhalation for adults and children

Inhalation is an effective method of treating diseases of the upper respiratory tract by administration with steam or by means of special nebulizers of medicinal and herbal preparations. This method allows you to deeply penetrate the organs, to act selectively, without harming the body as a whole. Its effectiveness is quite high, therefore inhalations have gained wide popularity, especially in pulmonology. On the modern pharmaceutical market, there are many drugs made specifically for inhalation, one of them is salbutamol. [1]

Indications Salbutamol

The medicine is intended for the treatment of obstructive diseases of the respiratory organs, which include chronic bronchitis with prolonged cough, leading to a change in the structure of the bronchi, chronic obstructive bronchitis with damage to the small airways, pulmonary emphysema, asthma.

Symptoms of these diseases are expressed in coughing, asthma attacks. Salmabutamol is effective for these symptoms, as well as in the prevention of their occurrence. 

Release form

Salbutamol for inhalation is available in several forms:

• aerosol - is a metal bottle with a dispenser equipped with a spray;
• solution - a colorless or slightly yellowish liquid, one of its trade names is salbutamol-native, intended for a nebulizer;
• powder - odorless, for an inhaler it dissolves in water in a ratio of one to four.

Pharmacodynamics

The drug produces a rapid, literally in 4-6 minutes, expansion of the bronchi due to the relaxation of their muscles, reaching a maximum by the 20th minute. Works for 4-5 hours. Reduces the resistance of the walls of the respiratory tract, enhances the motility of the ciliated epithelium, which improves the transport of mucus, increases the vital capacity of the lungs. [2]

Pharmacokinetics

During inhalation, only a fifth of the substance reaches the lower respiratory tract, the rest - in the inhaler and nasopharynx (swallowed).

What gets into the stomach is absorbed through its walls. Ultimately, the active substance, entering the systemic circulation, is metabolized in the liver. It is excreted mainly by the kidneys within 72 hours. [3]

Dosing and administration

The only way to use is inhalation through the mouth. Doses for different age categories and depending on the form of the drug are different:

• metered-dose inhaler - allowed from 4 years old to 100 mcg or 1 inhalation (with acute bronchospasm), if necessary, increase to two; with maintenance therapy 4, 200 mcg, but not more than 800 mcg per day;
• salbutamol-native - for children 1.5-12 years old, 2 mg per procedure, to relieve an attack, it can be carried out four times, for prevention - 2 mg per day. Adults and children over 12 - 2.5 mg, it is possible to increase the dose to 5 mg, and the frequency of the procedure can be every 4-6 hours until the condition improves;
• powder for inhalation - doses are doubled, because water makes up 4 parts of the powder and is applied according to the same schemes. 

Application for children

Children can be inhaled from the age of 4. Nevertheless, the drug can also be used for infants with distress syndrome - a breathing disorder that occurs in premature babies due to immaturity of the lungs. Their dose of salbutamol is 0.02-0.04 ml / kg of a 0.5% solution, up to a volume of 1-2 ml must be adjusted with saline. The procedure is carried out in 5-6 hours. [7]

Use Salbutamol during pregnancy

It is best not to use medication at all during pregnancy. Most drugs cross the placenta and can harm the unborn baby. But what about those women who suffer from attacks of bronchial asthma? A severe form of the disease carries a much greater threat than drug therapy. In such cases, the doctor prescribes bronchodilator drugs, which include salbutamol: a few breaths from the inhaler will relieve an attack of suffocation. [4]

Moreover, such drugs, called selective sympathomimetics, are used in obstetrics to treat miscarriage, but only in the form for intravenous administration. [5]

Contraindications

Salbutamol is contraindicated in people with allergic manifestations to the compound of the drug, various pathologies of the heart: tachycardia, defect, myocarditis, heart failure. It is not prescribed for diabetics who do not have blood sugar regulation by medical means, epilepsy, glaucoma, liver and kidney dysfunctions, and also in parallel with other non-selective beta-blockers. [6]

Side effects Salbutamol

The drug can cause insomnia, anxiety, weak muscle tremors, dizziness and headache, lower blood pressure, urticaria, facial edema, dyspepsia, rhinitis.

Overdose

Overdose signs are heart palpitations, hyperactivity. A decrease in the concentration of potassium in the blood serum, an increase in the level of lactic acid is possible. When carrying out inhalations, it is necessary to monitor these indicators. [8]

Interactions with other drugs

Salbutamol combines well with a number of anti-asthma drugs: glucocorticosteroids, antihistamines, mucolytics.

Simultaneous use with non-selective beta-blockers is dangerous for the development of suffocation.

Diuretics enhance its hypokalemic effect.

Tricyclic antidepressants increase the effect of the drug and can lead to a sharp drop in blood pressure.

Storage conditions

Storage conditions require that the preparations be kept away from bright light, out of the reach of children, away from fire, at an air temperature not exceeding 25 ° C.

Shelf life

Salbutamol is suitable for 2 years from the date of manufacture, after which the drug must be disposed of.

Analogs

The range of medications is so wide that it is always possible to replace one or another drug with analogues with the same therapeutic effect.

What is better for inhalation? There is another remedy with several components identical to salbutamol - berodual. What to give preference to?

Salbutamol is widely used as an emergency aid for relieving asthmatic attacks, it is even used in gynecology. A plus of the funds are various forms of release.

Berodual is effective for bronchial inflammation, it contains 2 active ingredients, which makes it possible to use it in a lower dosage. On the other hand, it has more side effects.

The expediency of using this or that drug should be left to the choice of the doctor.

Treatment of cough with inhalation can be carried out with other drugs:

• Ventolin for inhalation  - active substances - salbutamol and tetrafluoroethane. The indications are the same. The can contains 200 doses of 100 mcg each. The frequency of use is no more than 4 times a day;
• Berotec  for inhalation - the main component of fenoterol hydrobromide, relaxes the muscles of the bronchi and blood vessels, is used to relieve asthma attacks, prevent them, and other conditions with reversible narrowing of the respiratory organs. The recommended dose (on average 5-10 drops) is adjusted with saline to a volume of 3-4 ml and the inhaler is filled;
• pulmicort  is a suspension for inhalation, made using budesonide, a glucocorticosteroid. It has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. It is applied to the category of patients for whom the spraying of drugs with compressed air is ineffective, it is used in nebulizers. The drug is not intended for quick relief of bronchial asthma attacks;
• aminophylline  - consisting of aminophylline and theophylline active substance group has a spasmolytic effect. Getting inside in the form of an aerosol, it envelops the affected surface of the bronchi, providing an instant therapeutic effect. A dosage form in the form of ampoules is suitable for inhalation with a nebulizer.

Reviews

For patients with bronchial asthma, inhalation with salbutamol and other drugs intended for the treatment of the respiratory tract is a necessary measure for survival and establishing a life close to normal. According to reviews, without an inhaler, people could not only work, perform their daily functions, but also live.