Patient education: How to use your child's dry powder inhaler (The Basics)

Are there different types of dry powder inhalers? — Yes. There are 2 main types of dry powder inhalers:

●Multiple-dose inhalers – These come with all of the doses already in the inhaler. Most dry powder inhalers are this type. Examples include Advair Diskus, Asmanex Twisthaler, and Pulmicort Flexhaler.

●Single-dose inhalers – These come with capsules of medicine. You need to put a capsule into the inhaler each time your child uses it. An example is Spiriva Handihaler.

Dry powder inhalers are sometimes called "DPIs." There are different styles of dry powder inhalers. Most are tube- or disk-shaped with a mouthpiece.

How do dry powder inhalers work? — With this type of inhaler, the medicine is only pulled into the child's lungs when they take a deep, fast breath in from the inhaler. This is different than a "metered dose" inhaler, which sprays the medicine out of the inhaler.

How do I use my child's dry powder inhaler? — Each brand has its own directions. Your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist will show you how to use your child's inhaler. Read and follow the instructions that come with your child's inhaler.

In general, these are the steps for using a dry powder inhaler:

●Open the inhaler, or take off the cover.

●Load a dose of medicine:

•Multiple-dose inhalers – Load a dose by sliding a lever or twisting the bottom (or another part) of the inhaler.

•Single-dose inhalers – Load a dose by taking a pill out of its packaging and putting it into the inhaler. Then, push 1 or more buttons on the inhaler to poke holes in the pill.

●Hold the inhaler in the correct position – Some inhalers need to be held upright, but others need to be horizontal. Multiple-dose inhalers usually need to be horizontal.

●Give the dose – Have your child:

•Breathe out normally, but not into the inhaler.

•Put their mouth on the mouthpiece.

•Breathe in quickly and steadily, as deeply as possible.

•Remove their mouth from the mouthpiece, and hold their breath for 5 to 10 seconds.

•Let their breath out slowly, but not into the inhaler.

●For single-dose inhalers, open the inhaler, take out the used pill, and throw it away.

●If your child is supposed to take more than 1 dose of the inhaler, wait a minute. Then, load another dose, and repeat the steps above.

●Close the inhaler, or replace the cover or cap.

●Have your child rinse out their mouth, and spit out the water. If your child uses a steroid inhaler, rinsing helps prevent a mouth infection.

●Store the inhaler in a cool, dry place.

Do I need to clean my child's inhaler? — No. Do not wash a dry powder inhaler with water or put it under water. If the mouthpiece gets dirty, wipe it with a dry cloth.

How do I know when my child's inhaler is empty? — It depends on the type:

●Many multiple-dose dry powder inhalers come with a built-in dose counter. This keeps track of how many doses are left. When the counter reads 0 (zero), throw out the inhaler. That's because there is no more medicine in it. Make sure to have another inhaler available before the counter reads 0.

●For single-dose inhalers, count how many pills are left. Make sure to refill the prescription before you run out of pills.

More on this topic

Patient education: Asthma in children (The Basics)
Patient education: Medicines for asthma (The Basics)
Patient education: How to use your child's metered dose inhaler (The Basics)
Patient education: How to use your dry powder inhaler (adults) (The Basics)

Patient education: Asthma inhaler techniques in children (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Asthma treatment in children (Beyond the Basics)