Dosage
For the acute treatment of sudden respiratory distress, 0.1 mg salbutamol is usually inhaled. If the occurrence of such shortness of breath is foreseeable, for example in patients with asthma caused by exertion or allergens, this single dose should be taken 10-15 minutes before exposure if possible. If the shortness of breath does not subside within 5-10 minutes after a single dose, another single dose may be taken.
If this still does not improve, another single dose can be inhaled, but a physician should be consulted in this case. As part of a long-term therapy with salbutamol in bronchial asthma from level 2, 1-2 single doses can be taken 3-4 times a day, depending on the doctor’s prescription.Such long-term therapy should always include an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid as part of the therapy. The daily dose of salbutamol should not exceed 1 mg, i.e. 10 single doses of 0.1 mg each.
Application Indications
Salbutamol is primarily used as one of the most important drugs in the treatment of bronchial asthma. It is also used in the therapy of chronic obstructive bronchitis (COPD), but only in higher stages of the disease.
Contraindications
Salbutamol must not be taken in the case of a previously known hypersensitivity to the active substance, in the case of severe hyperthyroidism, in the case of a tumor in the adrenal gland, the so-called pheochromocytoma, in the case of a previously known aneurysm, or in the case of severe heart disease. These include a recent heart attack, severe coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, and tachycardic arrhythmias. Other contraindications for the use of salbutamol are severe non-therapeutic high blood pressure (hypertension) and treatment with cardiac glycosides such as digitoxin.
Therapy should be used with caution in patients with diabetes mellitus (diabetes), which is insufficiently controlled, and in patients with a pre-existing too low potassium level (hypokalemia) in the blood. During pregnancy and lactation, the use of salbutamol should be carefully weighed, as it can pass into the infant’s blood via the placenta and into the infant’s organism via breast milk. Shortly before and during birth, the use of salbutamol should be avoided in any case, as it can have a contraction-inhibiting effect and thus inhibit the birth process.
