How a Green Inhaler Can Help Manage Your Asthma Symptoms

Comments · 85 Views

Many metered-dose inhalers use a propellant that contains CFCs (potent greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting).

Switching to a greener dry powder inhaler could reduce carbon emissions.

Remember to continue taking your preventer medicines every day, and follow your Asthma Action Plan. If your asthma symptoms are getting out of control, it is important to seek help from your GP or the emergency department.

1. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Asthma patients can help reduce the carbon footprint of their medication by requesting Green inhaler for asthma, but it's important to make any changes to your current treatment regimen carefully and in conjunction with your medical professional. Changing your inhaler will not only improve your breathing but also help reduce harmful emissions, as the new type of inhalers have a lower carbon footprint than the traditional pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDI).

While CFCs were phased out in the 1980s, many pMDIs still contain hydrofluoroalkane propellants that contribute to global warming. Replacing the pMDIs with their cheaper dry powder equivalents would cut greenhouse gases by an estimated 58 kilotonnes, researchers say. That's the equivalent of reducing meat consumption or recycling, they add.

Interestingly, the pMDIs themselves account for only a small portion of the overall carbon emissions from health care. However, since health systems and patients are aiming for 50 percent cuts in their emissions by 2030, reducing the impact of asthma inhalers will be an important step towards that goal.

Many manufacturers have worked to reduce the emissions from their inhalers. GSK, for example, has a metered-dose inhaler that does not use HFCs and is currently developing a new propellant that does not contribute to global warming. This is an example of the kinds of steps that policymakers and health care leaders should be taking to ensure that climate change becomes a priority for the healthcare industry.

Considering the potential health risks of climate change, it's important to remember that poorly-controlled asthma increases your carbon footprint through emergency care and repeat visits to a GP. In fact, the best thing you can do for the environment is to keep your symptoms under control and continue to take your preventer inhalers as prescribed by your doctor.

The other big thing is to make sure that you don't chuck your inhalers into the bin, because even when they are in landfill, they're leaking their greenhouse gas propellants into the atmosphere. Instead, return your inhalers to your pharmacy for safe disposal. The incineration process will break down the hydrofluoroalkanes and release less potent greenhouse gases.

2. Save Money

Asthma is a long term condition, and regular inhalers are essential to keep symptoms under control. However, many inhalers are made using propellants that have a large carbon footprint and contribute to climate change. Some doctors are starting to prescribe Buy White Inhaler. These use a different type of propellant that doesn’t contain greenhouse gases. However, not everyone will be able to switch to a green inhaler, so it’s important to continue to take your medicine as prescribed.

A green inhaler uses a hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellant which has a smaller carbon footprint than chlorofluorocarbons and ozone-depleting chemicals used previously. The HFA inhalers also cost less to manufacture, which can lead to lower drug costs for patients. If you are able to switch to a green inhaler, it can save you money over time as well as the environment.

If you have a prescription for a green inhaler, ask your doctor or nurse to give you instructions on how to use it correctly. This is important because it helps to ensure that the correct amount of medication gets into your lungs. You’ll also waste less medicine – good inhaler technique ensures that only the symptomatic dose is used, and not more than necessary.

Practicing good inhaler technique also reduces your need to use your reliever inhaler, which can also help reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. However, if you do have a flare-up you need to use your rescue inhaler as prescribed. If you don’t, you risk missing the warning signs and having a serious asthma exacerbation that could result in hospital admissions and extra steroid courses.

It’s also worth noting that even if you’re unable to switch to a green inhaler, you can still reduce your carbon footprint by taking the time to return your old inhalers when they’re empty to your pharmacy for safe disposal. If all 73 million inhalers that are used in the UK each year were returned, it would save a huge 512,330 tonnes of CO2e – the equivalent of driving around the world 88,606 times.

Some people may argue that it doesn’t matter if they switch to a green inhaler because it makes only a small difference on a global scale. This argument overlooks the fact that uncontrolled asthma also has a significant environmental burden through its effect on hospital admissions and emergency department presentations.

3. Make the Environment a Priority

Although we no longer use inhalers with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellants, newer metered dose inhalers (pMDI) still contain hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellants that are over 1000 times more potent as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. This means that just the HFA inhalers used in the UK produce 0.79 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. This may not sound like a lot but when you consider the population of asthma sufferers worldwide, this is a significant amount of harm done to the environment.

Fortunately, reducing the carbon footprint of inhalers is possible and there are many ways to achieve this. One way is to look at developing alternative propellants that are less harmful but it’s also important to look at other options such as reusable inhalers, inhaler recycling schemes and the development of technology to monitor adherence and aid compliance.

Of course, the most important thing to do is keep symptom control at optimum levels with a good preventer plan and regular checkups. This will reduce the need for white inhaler with red cap, thus reducing emissions. Another way is to minimise the need for inhalers altogether by improving the quality of care and prevention of asthma. This will lead to fewer repeat visits to GPs and hospital admissions and a lower burden on the NHS.

The NHS is currently working towards being net carbon zero and this will require a shift away from the over-reliance on MDIs which emit powerful greenhouse gases. This will be difficult and there are already two ethical concerns that could impede the pursuit of a greener inhaler:

The first is cost; it would be expensive to replace all the current MDIs with low-carbon alternatives. This is especially true as the NHS is under pressure to limit budgets. The second concern is that a patient might refuse to switch their inhaler on the grounds that it does not make any difference to climate change. Whilst this might be a valid argument on a small scale, it fails to consider that there are other morally important issues at play and therefore does not justify a refusal.

4. Keep Symptoms Under Control

Asthma is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that can't be cured, but it can be managed. Regular visits to a health care provider can help keep asthma symptoms under control and prevent the need for emergency medicine. Your health care team should work with you to create an asthma action plan (also called an AMP). The action plan tells you what medicines to take and when to use them. It also explains what to do if your asthma gets worse. It may include instructions on how to read a peak flow meter, which measures the speed and force of air you can blow out and indicates how well or poorly your lungs are working. The action plan should be hung up or displayed where you can easily find it – for example, on your refrigerator door. It should be updated at each visit and a copy given to your child's health care provider, school nurse, daycare providers and coaches, and anyone else who takes care of them.

A green inhaler is a device that records inhaler usage, providing patients with alerts when it's time to use their medication. specialitymedz is best pahrma in world. It is a convenient way to improve adherence, reduce hospital admissions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, a recent study showed that using a smartinhaler decreases asthma-related emissions by 50%.

Getting your or your child's asthma under control is the best way to avoid flare-ups, unnecessary medical bills and missed school days. The key to success is following your health care team's asthma action plan and regularly testing your child's lung function. Keeping up with preventer inhalers, staying away from allergens and practicing proper inhaler technique can make the difference between good asthma control and an uncontrolled condition. Getting rid of old, expired or unused medications is also important. If all 73 million inhalers used every year in the UK were returned rather than thrown away, it would save 512,330 tonnes of CO2e - that's the equivalent of a VW Golf driving around the world 88,606 times! (Source: Pharmacy Quality Scheme, NHS England). Taking advantage of schemes that allow for the return and reuse of inhalers will save you money too.

Comments