Primatene Mist - Epinephrine OTC Inhaler
Primatene Mist was approved in November and has been available for purchase at pharmacies recently. You may remember this from before the old version was discontinued in 2011 due to CFC propellant environmental problems. This new formulation includes an HFA propellant which is common in other MDI inhalers. Primatene mist is the ONLY inhaler that is available over-the-counter. It is epinephrine, used as a rescue inhaler for mild asthma symptoms. It's great to have this option for patients with asthma, but important to counsel patients and make sure they do not use this inhaler as monotherapy to control breathing problems. Patients should still have routine evaluations with their primary care team. Like other inhalers, this one needs to be primed with 4 shake & sprays when first purchased. Unique to this inhaler though, patients need to prime it with 1 spray BEFORE EACH DOSE. So when a patient is ready to use it, they need to shake the inhaler, spray it away from them, shake it again, then spray to inhale the dose. Each inhaler contains 160 doses.
Jarred Prudencio, PharmD - https://www.instagram.com/ambcarerx
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