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Short-acting bronchodilator inhalers

An inhaler with a bronchodilator medicine is often prescribed. These relax the muscles in the airways (bronchi) to open them up (dilate them) as wide as possible. People often call them relievers. They include:

• Beta-agonist inhalers. Examples are salbutamol (brand names include Airomir®, Asmasal®, Salamol®, Salbulin®, Pulvinal Salbutamol® and Ventolin® ) and terbutaline (brand name Bricanyl®). These inhalers are often (but not always) blue in colour. Other inhalers containing different medicines can be blue too. Always read the label.
• Antimuscarinic inhalers. For example, ipratropium (brand name Atrovent®).

These inhalers work well for some people, but not so well in others. Typically, symptoms of wheeze and breathlessness improve within 5-15 minutes with a beta-agonist inhaler, and within 30-40 minutes with an antimuscarinic inhaler. The effect from both types typically lasts for 3-6 hours. Some people with mild or intermittent symptoms only need an inhaler as required for when breathlessness or wheeze occurs. Some people need to use an inhaler regularly.

The beta-agonist and antimuscarinic inhalers work in different ways. Using two, one of each type, may help some people better than one type alone.

Appendix 2 - Bronchodilator Table Wiki Page - Version 1.1 - 13.06.13