Comprehensive overview of Advair, its effect on patient’s health and comparative summary of crucial disadvantages versus advantages of medication contributing to wellbeing of patient and success of the treatment.
What Can Advair Be Prescribed For?
Advair represents a mix of salmeterol with fluticasone. Fluticasone belongs to steroid group and aims to prevent the release of substances inside human organism, which act as a source of inflammation. Meantime, Salmeterol represents bronchodilator, which exerts relaxation of muscles located inside the airways and, as result, eases breathing.
Likewise, Advair inhalation represents a combination drug aiming to deal with asthma symptoms and attacks, as well as stop flare-ups or progression of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) related to emphysema and/or chronic form of bronchitis. Most importantly, Advair is unable to stop an already started asthma attack and can only deal with asthma if other medications have not resulted in any success.
Inhaled fluticasone belongs originates from corticosteroids or steroids medications family and functions mainly through isolation of specific cells inside lungs as well as breathing passages, so they are unable to release any substances leading to symptoms of asthma.
Proper Dosage and Methods of Taking Advair
Advair is generally prescribed to treat adult patients and children of 4 years old and above, whereby Advair HFA can be taken by adults and children who have reached minimum age of 12 years old.
Advair should be taken strictly in accordance with doctor’s instructions and its dosage should not be altered throughout the entire treatment period unless instructed by healthcare practitioner. Besides that, the medicine treatment should not stop without prior discussion with specialist, since incompliance may lead to side effects.
In order to ensure that Advair actually stops asthma attacks from occurring, it should be taken on daily basis in similar doses, as per doctor’s advice. It is advised to rinse the mouth with water after each medicine application to aid in hoarseness prevention, irritation inside throat, and possible mouth infection. The water used for rinsing should not be swallowed. A missed dose should be skipped, not doubled and regular administration schedule should continue.
Advair dosage differs among various patients depending on each particular case. The medicine dosage is directly proportional to its strength and the nature of medical problem itself, which also impacts the allocated time between doses and overall duration of treatment.
Inhalation dosage (aerosol liquid) to prevent asthma attack includes the following:
- Adults and infants of 12 years old and above — 2 puffs in the morning followed by 2 puffs in the evening with minimum of 12 hours gap.
- Children below 12 years old should confirm the dosage with healthcare specialist and should not proceed with standard treatment dosage.
Inhalation dosage (aerosol powder) to prevent an asthma attack includes the following:
- Adults and infants of 12 years old and above — 1 inhalation twice a day, in the morning and in the evening with a minimum of 12 hours gap. The stated doses are subject to adjustments in accordance with doctor’s advice. Nevertheless, the dosage should not exceed 500 micrograms (mcg) of fluticasone and 50 mcg of salmeterol for twice a day application.
- Children of 4-11 years old — 1 inhalation twice a day, in the morning and in the evening with a minimum of 12 hours gap. Each inhalation includes 50 mcg of salmeterol and 100 micrograms (mcg) of fluticasone.
- Children below 4 years old are required to consult with healthcare practitioner on use and dosage.
Treatment and prevention of progressing COPD attacks generally require the following dosages:
- Adult patients — 1 inhalation twice a day, in the morning and in the evening with a minimum gap of 12 hours in between. Each inhalation includes 50 mcg of salmeterol and 250 micrograms (mcg) of fluticasone.
- Children should undergo a consultation with healthcare practitioner to confirm the use and corresponding dosage.
Key Information and Crucial Precautions
Avoid taking Advair for treatment of worsening wheezing. Monitor your health conditions throughout the entire treatment period and contact your healthcare practitioner without delay if wheezing becomes worse during Advair treatment.
Abstain from using any other drugs for asthma or other breathing problems without consent from your healthcare specialist’s side. Advair is never to be taken together with other inhalers containing the combination of formoterol and budesonide (i.e. Symbicort), formoterol (i.e. Perforomist, Foradil Aerolizer), or arformoterol (i.e. Brovona).
Application of Advair may lead to fungus infection inside mouth or throat (thrush), hence an immediate consultation with physician is required if any white patches are observed inside the throat or mouth, accompanied by pain during meal intake or swallowing.
Patients suffering from COPD may develop a tendency to suffer from pneumonia. Hereby, if you observe increased sputum (spit), alteration in colour of sputum, chills, fever, increase in coughing, or worsening of breathing problems – get in touch with your doctor right away in order to receive an appropriate assistance.
If Advair is prescribed to a child, a thorough and continuous monitoring is necessary to be in place at all times. Likewise, if your child starts having hives, a skin rash, or any of allergic reactions (e.g. anaphylaxis), seek for an immediate assistance from healthcare specialist.
Advair is required to be stored the at room temperature (avoid freezing), without direct light and/or extreme heat/cold exposure. Maintain the integrity of the canister at all times and do not throw it into a fire, even when the canister is empty.
Maintain the drug inside the foil pouch until you are prepared to start its application. Keep the medicine away from children to ensure they do not reach it. Any outdated medication should not be used and should be disposed only in accordance with advice from healthcare practitioner.
Side Effects Caused by Advair Treatment
Besides positive effects, there is also a possibility that Advair may cause certain undesired effects.
Even though only certain side effects may actually take place, while others will appear and stop naturally as the treatment progresses and your body is adjusting to the medicine, there are still certain side effects that, once observed, may require immediate medical assistance, such as:
- Tarry, black stools;
- Loss of vision (partial or complete);
- Tingling, chilling, burning, numbness or pain sensations in arms, legs, feet, or hands;
- Coughing, sore throat and noisy breathing;
- Complications when swallowing or breathing;
- Pain in eyes;
- Increased heartbeat rate;
- Fever;
- Acute headache;
- Itchiness, rashes, or redness of sking;
- Hives/welts;
- Massive swelling around the face, lips, eyelids, throat, glands, tongue, legs, hands, feet and even sex organs
- Repeated nausea;
- Difficulties during urination accompanied by pain;
- Ulcers, sores, or white spots appearing around the mouth or lips;
- Abnormal bleeding or bruising;
- Reoccurring vomiting.
Frequently Asked Questions Related to Advair and Its Treatment
Upon receiving the Advair, I have also got a medication guide. What is the significance of that guide?
You are required to thoroughly read through Advair Medication Guide prior to initializing the treatment process in order to completely understand the medication and its interaction with your body, as well as to prepare yourself to act accordingly when any of possible side effects are observed.
What is the reason behind the necessity to visit doctor 4 times a year during Advair treatment?
This is the current general practice for all patients taking Advair, Foradil or Salmeterol – to undergo a routine check-up minimum 4 times per year in order to monitor the asthma response to treatment and include any adjustments to medication if necessary.
How can I confirm that my asthma is under control?
The best way to confirm whether your asthma is controlled is by undergoing a simple test available online at official websites or via consultation with your healthcare specialist.
Conclusion
Advair has proven its efficiency in treatment of asthma among patients of 12 years old and above. Application of Advair twice a day should be maintained for patients without specific control in cases of a long-term asthma control. Various clinical researches and independent studies have been conducted to confirm the efficiency of Advair application, provided that strict adherence to prescription and continuous consultation with doctor is maintained at all times.
Important note:
This patient information is published for educational purposes only. The instructions and product properties quoted on this page follow the guidelines outlines by the drug manufacturer, but do not replicate it in all fullness. We strongly advise against using this information as a call to action of any kind, be it purchasing or using the drug without a proper medical consultation carried out first. Trademarks, names of companies and eventual studies are inserted for informational purposes and as a legal reference and respect for the copyright law and ethics.