Asthma inhaler warns of danger

A new inhaler for asthma sufferers which, it is claimed, can alert them to an imminent life-threatening attack, was unveiled yesterday.

The new model, called the Ventolin Accuhaler, has its own dose counter so that patients can tell at a glance how often they are using it to control their symptoms.

Dr Dermot Ryan, of the GPs in Asthma Group, which aims to improve the care of 3 million asthma sufferers in the United Kingdom said: "If they see they are taking twice as many puffs a day as normal, it can act as an early warning that their asthma is unstable and make them do something about it."

Dr Ryan said that another advantage of the new pounds 5 inhaler from Allen and Hanburys was that it had only 60 doses whereas the previous model had 200. Doctors should quickly spot patients whose asthma is out of control because they would return more often for repeat prescriptions, he said.

Doctors believe that thousands of patients rely too heavily on inhalers which deliver doses of drugs to dilate the constricted airways and make breathing easier. Instead they should be taking preventive drugs, such as steroids (which can also be taken by inhaler), which should improve their condition long-term, and using the bronchodilators only for immediate relief when they start wheezing.

Bronchodilators can be used up to six times in a 24-hour period, and occasionally more often if air is of a poor quality. If a sufferer needs an inhaler more than this over a period of days, medical advice should be sought.

The National Asthma Campaign said that the new inhaler would serve as a useful reminder but that most patients monitored their doses anyway. "If it saves lives then it will be in a roundabout way," a spokeswoman said.