When is nebuliser treatment recommended for asthma?

A nebuliser creates a mist from prescribed liquid medicine, allowing it to be breathed through a mask or mouthpiece. In urgent settings it may be used when symptoms are severe, breathing is difficult, or an inhaler and spacer cannot be used effectively.

It is not a replacement for your preventer or reliever plan, and home nebuliser use should have clear instructions from a clinician. The right treatment depends on your symptoms, examination, oxygen level, age, and response to initial medicine.

Follow your written asthma action plan and use your prescribed reliever exactly as instructed. Sit upright, stay with someone if possible, and seek help if symptoms do not improve promptly or return soon after treatment. Use a nebuliser at home only when it has been prescribed and you have been shown how to use it.

Clean and dry the equipment as directed. Keep an up-to-date supply of prescribed medicines and bring the device or medication list to reviews.

Call emergency services for severe or rapidly worsening breathlessness, blue lips, drowsiness, confusion, exhaustion, or difficulty speaking. Urgent assessment is also needed when the reliever is not helping, breathing remains hard, or you are using it more often than your plan allows.

Ask when a nebuliser is appropriate for your action plan, which medicine it should contain, how long to use it, and when to call emergency services. Ask whether your preventer treatment needs review after a flare.