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The most common way to take inhaled medication
is the metered dose inhaler or MDI. an MDI should always be used with a special
device called the spacer
which delivers more medicine to the lungs and less medicine
ends up in the mouth and throat. Is your child using his or her spacer correctly?
Let's take a look at the following example that shows good technique.
For a child who can hold his or her breath for 10 seconds,
the most common spacer is the Aero chamber with a mouthpiece.
First, make sure your child stands up straight.
Take the cap off the inhaler, shake the inhaler well
and insert it into the air chamber spacer. Your child needs to breathe out normally
Place the mouthpiece between the teeth
with the tongue underneath. Make sure the lips make a tight seal.
Press down once on the medicine canister
releasing one puff medicine into the spacer.
Do not release more than one puff at a time. Your child needs to breathe in
slowly and deeply from the spacer
in order to fill the lungs with as much medicine and air as possible.
Have your child remove the spacer and hold his or her breath
while slowly counting to 10, then
breathe out slowly through the mouth. If your child is taking more than one puff
of quick relief medicine,
it may help to wait at least 1 minute between puffs.
When your child is done taking the medicine,
remove the inhaler from the spacer and replace the cap on the mouthpiece of the
inhaler.
Be sure to have your child rinse his or her mouth out with water
if using an inhaled corticosteroid like QVAR or Flovent.
If you have any concerns about whether your child is using his or her MDI and
spacer correctly
ask your child's doctor or care manager to check your child's technique