Different Effects of Albuterol on Different Age Groups
Albuterol is considered to be the generic form of the brand name drugs Ventolin, Proventil, ProAir. These medications are utilized to treat various lung diseases that are known to include COPD which stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma.
Albuterol as a medicine is known to relieve coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. It is considered to be in a class of drugs that are known as bronchodialetors. The way it works is by opening and relaxing the air passages to the lungs.
This particular medication is utilized to improve or treat muscle paralysis in different people who suffer from the condition that is known to cause paralysis attacks. Certain example of these attacks includes hyperkalemic periodic paralysis.
The FDA also was known as the Food and Drug Administration is known to have approved Albuterol in the year 1982.
Albuterol warnings
One should make sure to keep this particular medication with them all the time. They need to renew and refill their prescription before they actually run out of the medication.
Albuterol is known to control various symptoms of lung diseases and asthma. However, the thing to be remembered is that it doesn’t cure them. One should not stop taking the medication without first consulting their doctor.
This particular medication is known to sometimes cause breathing difficulties or wheezing immediately after it has been inhaled. One needs to make sure to call the doctor straight away if this ever happens to you.
One should also make sure to let their doctors know if the symptoms do worsen or if the Albuterol stops helping out the symptoms.
Before, taking this medication one should let their health care provider know if they ever suffered from:
- Heart diseases
- High blood pressure
- An irregular heartbeat
- Hyperthyroidism
- Diabetes
- Seizures
One should make sure not to use their Albuterol inhaler near any source of heat like a flame. The inhalers are known to explode when they have been exposed to extremely high temperatures.
Pregnancy and Albuterol
Albuterol is considered to be an FDA pregnancy category C drug. It basically means that one does not know whether it will cause actual harm to an unborn baby. A person should inform their doctors if they are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant while consuming albuterol.
It is also an unknown fact whether a drug can pass into breast milk which would harm a breastfeeding baby. One also needs to consult their doctors before breastfeeding their baby while consuming Albuterol.
Albuterol Side effects
One needs to tell their doctor if they face any of these common side effects of consuming Albuterol. If the side effects do become severe and don’t go away then it is time to immediately contact your doctor. The effects are known to include- nervousness, headache, nausea, vomiting, and cough, shaking of a part of the body, irritation in the throat, back, muscle or bone pain.
Albuterol and weight loss
Because Albuterol is known to have a stimulating effect there are people who utilize it for losing weight. There are various websites which are of dubious credibility that are known to offer discussions and instructions on the ways to use this medicine for weight loss purposes.
However, this particular medication has not been approved by the FDA for this particular purpose. Increasing the dosage of this medication or utilizing it in a more frequent manner than actually prescribed so as to achieve weight loss may actually be dangerous and also lead to life-threatening side effects.
Serious side effects of Albuterol
One should call their doctors immediately if they experience any of the following side effects which are known to be serious.
- Chest pains
- Itching, hives or rash
- Fast, pounding or irregular heartbeat
- Swelling of the throat, face, lips, tongue, hands, eyes, ankles, feet or lower legs.
- Difficulties swallowing
- Worsen breathing
- Hoarseness
Albuterol interactions
One should make sure to let their doctors know if they are taking any prescription, illegal, non-prescription, herbal, recreational, nutritional or dietary drug especially-
- Beta blockers like atenolol, labetalol, metoprolol, nadolol, and propranolol
- Digoxin
- Diuretics which are basically water pills
- Epinephrine
- Any other inhaled medication that is used to relax the air passages. Examples include metaproterenol and Xopenex.
- Any OTC which means over the counter medication or prescribed medication for cold.
One should make sure to tell their pharmacists or doctor if they have been taking the following medicines or may have stopped taking them within the past two weeks. The medicines are known to include
- Any anti-depressants such as amoxapine, amitriptyline, clomipramine, imipramine, norpriptyline etc.
- Any MAOIs which stands for Monoamine Oxydase Inhibitors including phenelzine, slegiline, tranylcypromine etc.
Albuterol dosage
It is important that you follow the instructions given by your doctor when it comes to consuming albuterol. Since we already know the kind of side effects it can have on the human body it is crucial that you maintain the instructions given by your doctor. However, at the same time, you should not become too much dependent on albuterol as it may worsen your asthma problem even more.
The inhaler is usually used by a person four to six hours as they need it in order to prevent the symptoms of asthma. Taking it more than that will only make your body week and thus, your body will grow more dependent on it. Most of the inhalers are known to come with an attached counter that is used to keep a check on the number of sprays that you have used in a day. You should change the number or else you will lose the count.
Thus, it can be concluded that albuterol though helpful but at the same time it is known to have several side effects on the human body. Therefore, one should be very cautious while consuming it and should consult the doctor before using it.
