COPD - quick-relief drugs
Quick-relief medicines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) work quickly to help you breathe better. You take them when you are coughing, wheezing, or having trouble breathing, such as during a flare-up. For this reason, they are also called rescue drugs.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease. Having COPD makes it hard to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD:Chroni...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleFlare-up
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms can worsen rapidly. You may find it hard to breathe. You may cough or wheeze more or produce ...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleThe medical name of these drugs is bronchodilators, meaning medicines that open the airways (bronchi). They relax the muscles of your airways and open them up for easier breathing. You and your health care provider can make a plan for the quick-relief drugs that work for you. This plan will include when you should take your medicine and how much you should take.
Follow instructions on how to use your medicines the right way.
Make sure you get your medicine refilled before you run out.
Inhaler with spacer - adults - Animation
If you have a chronic lung disease, like asthma or COPD, a metered-dose inhaler is often your main type of therapy. An inhaler is a small, hand-held device that delivers medicine in the form of a spray that you breathe in. Using an inhaler may seem easy, but many people don't use them the right way. You need to know how to use your inhaler correctly for the medicine to get to your lungs and work effectively. A spacer device will help. The spacer connects to the inhaler mouthpiece, and the medicine goes into the spacer tube first. This allows you to breathe in the medicine more easily. Using a spacer wastes a lot less medicine than spraying the medicine directly into your mouth. It also makes it less important to get the exact timing for activating the inhaler while taking in a breath. These are instructions for using an inhaler with a spacer. First off, if you have not used the inhaler in a while, you may need to prime it. See the instructions that came with your inhaler for when and how to do this. Take the caps off the inhaler and spacer. Look inside each mouthpiece to make sure there is nothing in it. Shake the inhaler 10 to 15 times to mix the medicine with the propellant. Attach the inhaler mouthpiece to the open end of the spacer and hold it upright. Stand or sit upright. Breathe out all the way to empty your lungs. Place the spacer mouthpiece in your mouth so that it fits just past your teeth and above your tongue. Close your lips around the spacer so that you form a tight seal. Tilt your head back slightly. As you slowly begin to breathe in through your mouth, press down once on the top of the inhaler. Keep breathing in slowly, as deeply as you can. Your spacer may have a whistle that sounds if you breathe in too fast. Take the spacer out of your mouth. Hold your breath for 5 to 10 seconds. This lets the medicine reach deep into your lungs. Breathe out slowly through your mouth. If you need a second puff, wait about 1 minute before you take your next puff. Put the caps back on the inhaler and spacer. After using your inhaler, gargle and rinse your mouth with water. Do not swallow the water. This helps reduce side effects from your medicine. To keep your inhaler and spacer operating correctly, you need to keep them clean. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for when and how often to clean your inhaler and spacer. Using your inhaler with a spacer the right way ensures you get the medicine you need. It's a good idea to bring your inhaler and spacer to your medical appointments. That way your health care provider can make sure you are using them correctly.
Quick-relief Beta-agonist Inhalers
Quick-relief beta-agonists help you breathe better by relaxing the muscles of your airways. They are short-acting, which means they stay in your system only for a short time.
Some people take them just before exercising. Ask your provider if you should do this.
If you need to use these drugs more than 3 times a week, or if you use more than one canister a month, your COPD probably is not under control. You should call your provider.
Kinds of Quick-relief Beta-agonists
Quick-relief beta-agonists inhalers include:
- Albuterol (ProAir HFA; Proventil HFA; Ventolin HFA)
- Levalbuterol (Xopenex HFA)
- Albuterol and ipratropium (Combivent)
Most of the time, these medicines are used as metered dose inhalers (MDI) with a spacer. Sometimes, especially if you have a flare-up, they are used with a nebulizer.
Metered dose inhalers (MDI) with a spac...
Metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) usually have 3 parts:A mouthpieceA cap that goes over the mouthpieceA canister full of medicine If you use your inhaler ...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleNebulizer
A nebulizer is a small machine that turns liquid medicine into a mist that can be easily inhaled. You sit with the machine and breathe in the medici...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleSide effects might include:
- Anxiety.
- Tremor.
- Restlessness.
- Headache.
- Fast or irregular heartbeats. Call your provider right away if you have this side effect.
Some of these medicines also exist in pills, but the side effects are a lot more significant, so they are very rarely used that way.
Quick relief Muscarinic antagonists (anti-cholinergics)
There is one medicine, ipratropium (Atrovent), which works slower than beta-agonists, but faster than other long-acting medicines.
Oral Steroids
Oral steroids (also called corticosteroids) are medicines you take by mouth, as pills, capsules, or liquids. They are not quick-relief medicines, but are often given for 7 to 14 days when your symptoms flare-up. Sometimes you might have to take them for longer.
Oral steroids include:
- Methylprednisolone
- Prednisone
- Prednisolone
Reviewed By
Denis Hadjiliadis, MD, MHS, Paul F. Harron Jr. Associate Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Anderson B, Brown H, Bruhl E, et al. Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement website. Health Care Guideline: Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). 10th edition. www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/CD/copd/VADoDCOPDCPGFinal508.pdf. Updated January 2016. Accessed May 27, 2022.
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) website. Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 2023 report. goldcopd.org/2023-gold-report-2/. Accessed January 11, 2023.
Han MK, Lazarus SC. COPD: clinical diagnosis and management. In: Broaddus VC, Ernst JD, King TE, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 64.
Waller DG. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In: Waller DG, ed. Medical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 12.