What is the Impact of Ventolin Inhalers on the Lungs?

Photo by Sahej Brar on Unsplash
Sahej Brar on Unsplash

Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions across all age ranges and social demographics in the UK. While many of us are familiar with Ventolin inhalers - either using them or seeing a relative use them - far fewer of us have looked into the impact they have on the lungs. As with every type of medication, regardless of the intended purpose, there will be side effects and potential complications which need to be considered. To begin with, we'll outline the positive impact Ventolin inhalers have while noting that these far outweigh the impact on the lungs of any potential side effects.

Ventolin inhalers relax the airways in the lungs

If you suffer from asthma then you are predisposed to having your airways constricted by external stimuli. Unwanted stimuli may arrive in the form of pollen, many experience it when encountering dust, and a number of fragrances, odours, and solvents can also tighten your airways. When this happens to a severe degree, you will suffer an acute asthma attack and need intervention in the form of an inhaler.

When you buy Ventolin online at UK Meds and use it to treat your asthma, what you're actually doing is forcing the muscles in your airways to relax. The circumference of your airways, and therefore the total amount of air that can flow, is controlled by tiny groups of muscles. Asthmatics are people whose muscles can spasm and contract, often as a result of an allergic reaction, causing laboured breathing. Doctors refer to this as a bronchospasm episode.

Ventolin inhalers restore maximum lung capacity

One of the issues an asthma sufferer will face is that the constriction of their airways causes a reduction in the maximum amount of oxygen they can take in. This results in feeling short of breath and wheezy far before their baseline aerobic limit should kick in.

An inhaler dosage taken at the right time, and in the right amount, will dilate the muscles in the airways, increasing the airflow into the lungs. With millions of tiny airways in the lungs potentially inflamed, the reduction in lung capacity in the build-up to an attack can readily be 50% or more. Thanks to the positive impact of the correct dosage on the operation of the lungs, your inhaler can restore your full range of breathing in a period of typically no more than 30 minutes.

What other impacts can Ventolin inhalers have?

While Ventolin inhalers are highly effective at opening up the airways, we can learn a lot about the recommended amount of usage by looking at potential negative impacts on the lungs.

Current research shows no known negative impact on the lungs as a result of Ventolin use. One thing worth being aware of is that chronic overuse can be linked to transient feelings of chest pain, with some users reporting the pain as coming from the lungs. While this is largely anecdotal, it is worth making a note of in case you, or a loved one, experiences something similar in the future.

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