Albuterol
BreathingAlso known as Ventolin, ProAir, Proventil
Albuterol relaxes the muscles wrapped around your airways within minutes, opening them up so air moves freely again. It's a reliever, not a preventer: it fixes the moment, not the underlying inflammation. If you're reaching for it more than a couple of times a week, that's your asthma telling you the overall plan needs adjusting — see your doctor.
How to take it
When
As needed for wheezing, tightness, or before exercise if your doctor advised it.
How
Shake well, breathe out fully, seal your lips around it, press and breathe in slowly and deeply, then hold your breath about 10 seconds. A spacer makes this much easier.
Watch for
Needing it more often than usual. That's the single most important warning sign in asthma.
Upkeep
Check the dose counter and keep a spare before you run out. An empty rescue inhaler is an emergency waiting to happen.
Missed a dose?
It's used as needed, so there's no missed dose. If you use a scheduled controller inhaler too, don't confuse the two — the rescue one is for symptoms right now.
Common side effects
- Shakiness or trembling hands for a short while
- A faster heartbeat
- Mild headache or nervous feeling
Call a doctor if
- Your breathing doesn't improve, or gets worse, after using it — call emergency services
- You need it more than twice a week (outside exercise) — book a doctor's visit
- Chest pain or a pounding, irregular heartbeat after use