Inhaler and spacer technique
Inhaler technique is one of the most common things to go wrong in respiratory care, and it is one of the easiest to fix. If the medication doesn't reach your lower airways, it can't work — no matter how good the prescription is. We check your technique with each device you actually use, for adults and children, and we ask you to show us rather than describe it.
What we look for
- Shaking and priming the device, and whether it still has doses left in it.
- Breathing out fully before you start, which most people skip.
- The seal at your lips, and whether air is escaping around the mouthpiece.
- Slow and steady for a puffer, quick and deep for a dry powder inhaler — these are opposites, and many people use one technique for both.
- Co-ordinating the press and the breath in, which is where a spacer usually helps.
- Holding your breath afterwards, and rinsing your mouth if you use a preventer containing a steroid.
Devices we can go through
Metered dose inhalers ("puffers") with and without a spacer, dry powder inhalers such as Turbuhaler, Accuhaler, Ellipta, Breezhaler and Handihaler, soft mist inhalers such as Respimat, spacers with and without a mask, and nebulisers. We can also show you how to clean and store a spacer so it keeps working properly, and how to tell when a device is empty.
Self-management education
- Understanding your lung condition and what helps.
- Recognising early signs of a flare-up and what to do.
- Home airway clearance and exercise programs.
- Recovery breathing and breathing control, with or without a device.
- Pacing everyday activities so you finish the day with something left in the tank.
- Making sense of your action plan, so it's a plan you'd actually follow at 9pm on a bad night.
For children and parents
Children often have a device and a spacer, and sometimes a mask as well. We work with both the child and the parent, because at home it's usually the parent holding the spacer. Short, practical and unhurried — we'd rather spend the time getting it right once than have you guess for months.
What to bring
Bring every inhaler, spacer and nebuliser you use, including the ones you've stopped using, plus your written asthma or COPD action plan if you have one. Education is part of an ordinary appointment, so you can book online — no referral needed. If your GP has put you on a Chronic Condition Management Plan, a Medicare rebate may apply; see our fees page.
We don't prescribe or change medication — that's your GP or respiratory specialist. What we do is make sure the medication you have been prescribed is reaching your lungs, and write back to your doctor if we find something worth knowing.