Talking Allergies

We bought our aerochamber 4 years ago when our daughter was 1. Recently I saw new ones on display at Shoppers. According to the box, it was a new design which delivers the meds more effectively. I mentioned this to my husband. He has been concerned that ours was not working well. Our daughter has been having more difficulty with her asthma lately. Anyways, he looked up on the internet tonight and the company says that they should be replaced about every 2 years depending on how much they are used. We were never given this info! I feel very bad that maybe our daughter has been suffering because the aerochamber hasn't been working.

Does anyone have one of the new chambers? How often do you replace yours? We see our doctor on Wednesday. I will talk to her about this.

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13 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, tree nuts and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema
10 year old son - no allergies

Never told to replace it every 2 years either! Boy, it seems with asthma that there is a lot we aren't told. It can be very frustrating.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy and green beans) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: Oral Allergy Syndrome, Allergic to Birch trees

My daughters are too old for aerochambers now but yes, it is true that you have to replace them every so often. I found out when I asked the pharmacist how I could wash it as it was getting really cloudy from the powder. She asked how we had it and when I said a few years, she said it was probably time to change it. So don't feel bad, I don't think it's common knowledge.

You think they would mention this on the aerochamber or on the packaging, as it is also in their best interest to sell more!

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15 year old - asthmatic, allergic to cats, dogs, horses, waiting to be "officially" diagnosed for anaphylaxis
12 year old - asthmatic, allergic to tree pollen and mold, OAS
Husband - Allergic to amoxycillin
Self - Allergic to housework only

I saw the new Aerochamber at the allergists' conference on the weekend. They also have better technology, ensuring that more of the medication gets out of the chamber and right down into the lungs.

Seemed impressive. /Gwen

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Nicole - you might want to check with an expert, but my understanding is that everyone - adult or child - should use a spacer such as the Aerochamber for inhaled steroids like Flovent because they deliver the medication more effectively.

See http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/82/3/185/T1 for more as well as http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/82/3/185 , which says this (see the bold text in paragraph 2):



I have adult friends with asthma and they use an Aerochamber...

If you go to http://www.aerochambervhc.com/ you see a photo with the various types of Aerochamber available - they are different sizes for different ages. The blue one at the top left of the photo is the one my son now has. It's intended for kids 6 and up, I believe. It doesn't come with a mask, and the company rep that I spoke to told me that although you can buy a mask to attach to it, it's actually better not to use the mask once the child is old enough to cope with the one that goes into the mouth because it ensures that the child inhales the medication directly into the lungs (rather than through the nose first I guess). The study that I linked to above also supports that.

Anyway, this is just some info that might be of interest. As Susan said, there is a LOT that patients and parents are not told about asthma. I find it very frustrating, personally.

Kate - I also didn't find out until recently that the Aerochamber should be replaced every 2 years. Ours was about 4 years old as well. Either I didn't read the info in the packaging when we first got it (5 years ago) or it wasn't there. At any rate, like Gwen said, and according to the rep I spoke with, the new ones are supposed to be made of a better plastic that doesn't "grab" the medication and are thus more effective, so it would be worth investing in a new one if yours is "expired".

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

We did get a new areochamber - the blue one like yours Karen. We are still using the mask as she is not ready yet to use just a mouth piece. The new areochamber has a message right on it that states that it must be replaced after 2 years of steady use. I guess other people were missing the message like us! So much to learn... Thankfully allergy season is over now and her breathing is improved. My daughter says that winter is her favourite season because of the snow but I wonder if she is thinking about relief from the allergies.

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13 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, tree nuts and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema
10 year old son - no allergies

After reading this the other day, I checked our aerochamber - we got a new one last year and it does say to replace after 2 years right on it. We have the infant chamber that is kept at daycare (Connor rarely gets his puffers at daycare, so it's more of an emergency thing) that we bought when Connor was about 8 months old and got his first puffers. That chamber is 3 1/2 years old now - I checked it at the daycare the other day and it does not have any information about replacing it on the chamber itself. They must have only fairly recently started marking the chambers themselves with this information. Definitely good to know!

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Mom to 2 boys:
Connor, 5, asthma, allergic to peanuts, cats, dogs, dust mites, and summer moulds
Eric, 3 1/2, no allergies

Thanks for the info. My son is definitely due for a new one. I seem to remember that private insurance paid for part of it. Does anyone know if I need a doctor's note or "prescription" in order to submit the cost to the insurance company? This is for Ontario.

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16-year-old son: peanuts, nuts, raw egg whites, asthmatic
Self: allergic rhinitis, fragrance/chemical sensitivities, oral allergy syndrome

Karen, I too remember reading this. Because it is so difficult for people to time the delivery of their meds to their inhalation, most people end up spraying the back of their throat instead of inhaling the medication into their lungs where it's needed. I just can't remember where I read this....maybe www.asthma.ca

Funny, I was just talking to a friend who has been prescribed a puffer for bronchitis and she complained that she felt like the medication was staying at the back of her throat too.

My daughters use the diskus inhalers for all their meds, so it's not an issue.

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15 year old - asthmatic, allergic to cats, dogs, horses, waiting to be "officially" diagnosed for anaphylaxis
12 year old - asthmatic, allergic to tree pollen and mold, OAS
Husband - Allergic to amoxycillin
Self - Allergic to housework only

I think it varies by insurance company, but I know that when we bought my son's first aerochamber, we bought it over the counter and it wasn't covered by our insurance. When we bought our 2nd one, I had learned that it was covered my our insurance with a prescription (it was about $20 cheaper by prescription than over the counter too).

My friend just got an aerochamber for her daughter and it was covered by her insurance with just the store receipt, no prescription needed. We're both in Ontario.

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Mom to 2 boys:
Connor, 5, asthma, allergic to peanuts, cats, dogs, dust mites, and summer moulds
Eric, 3 1/2, no allergies

Thanks for the info, Tara.

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16-year-old son: peanuts, nuts, raw egg whites, asthmatic
Self: allergic rhinitis, fragrance/chemical sensitivities, oral allergy syndrome