What to expect from inhaler therapy for COPD

COPD inhalers can relax airway muscles, reduce breathlessness and make it easier to move air. Long-acting inhalers are taken on a routine schedule. Short-acting relievers may be prescribed for episodes of increased symptoms. Some people need more than one medicine or device, depending on symptoms, exacerbations and other health conditions.

The device matters: a dry-powder inhaler needs a strong, quick breath, while a pressurised inhaler needs coordinated pressing and breathing. A spacer may help with some devices. Your clinician should demonstrate the exact inhaler you have.

Use maintenance inhalers consistently and do not stop them because breathing improves unless the prescriber changes the plan. Practise the technique during reviews, keep the device dry when required, and track remaining doses. Ask for a written plan for flare-ups, including when to call the clinic and when to seek urgent help.

Avoid smoke and other triggers where possible, stay active within your abilities, and discuss vaccinations and pulmonary rehabilitation with your care team. Report tremor, palpitations, dry mouth or oral soreness so the regimen can be assessed.

Get urgent help for severe breathlessness at rest, blue or grey lips, new confusion, marked drowsiness, chest pain, or inability to speak in full sentences. Contact your clinician when sputum changes with worsening cough or breathlessness, usual activities become harder, or the reliever is needed more often than directed.

Ask what each inhaler does, the correct breathing technique, whether a spacer fits your device, how to recognise a flare-up, and how often your inhaler plan needs checking.