Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Inhalers of better quality breathe life into system

CHENNAI: When Patrick Hart was advised to move from a cheaper inhaler to a more expensive one a few months ago, he did so because all he was looking for was relief from asthma. He had his first attack of asthma six years ago in Chennai caused by high pollution levels in the city and later moved to Kodaikanal to heal.

He is among thousands of people across the world who have been slowly shifting from their older medication, following a directive from the World Health Organisation. The WHO called on the pharmaceutical companies to wean out the earlier drugs that released chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) into the atmosphere.

Mould, dust, house mite, fur from soft toys or second-hand smoke, cockroaches, pets such as cats and dogs could trigger asthma attacks. Certain types of food, respiratory infections, exercise and pollen could also trigger the attack causing breathing difficulties, wheezing, coughing, and tightness and pain in the chest. People who suffer from chronic asthma, a problem that is aggravated during winter, are advised by their doctors to use inhalers. The medicine is filled in the inhaler and by pressing the inhaler, it is delivered directly to the lungs thus improving the lungs’ capacity to receive oxygen. The deep breath taken with every puff, and not the force of the spray from the inhaler, will ensure that the medicine reaches the lungs.

“CFC is used in inhalers to push the asthma medicines into the lung. When the inhaler is pressed, the propellant can go into the air, dilute it and deplete the ozone area.

About three to five per cent of the population suffer from asthma and the effect of pressing the inhaler into the air by such a large number of people is enormous. This is the reason for the switchover,” explains G.S. Kailash, consultant, Asthma and Allergy Clinic. Consultants do a spirometric study before medication is prescribed. A second spirometric study is done to find if there is improvement after the medication. Doctors say that awareness about inhaler use is low.

“Only a very small number of people use inhalers. India has several options because it is an advanced drug manufacturing country,” says Raj B. Singh, senior consultant respiratory physician at Apollo Hospital.

While many in villages still receive tablets as medication, companies are manufacturing cheaper versions of inhalers. In advanced countries, multi-unit inhalers with one month’s supply of medicines in the device are more popular, he says. They are expensive but elegant and easy to use.

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