Pulmicort Turbohaler

Order Pulmicort Turbohaler Online

Written by Clinical Pharmacist Hywel McGlinchy

To request to order a Pulmicort Turbohaler, you must complete a short medical questionnaire. If your order is approved by our doctors, a prescription is sent to our online pharmacy team.  

From here, we will dispatch your inhaler to your delivery address. Next working day delivery options are available. Please note, this service is only available to patients who are prescribed this inhaler regularly by their GP.

About Pulmicort

Pulmicort Turbohaler is a steroid inhaler used in the treatment of asthma. Steroid inhalers sometimes called corticosteroid inhalers, reduce the inflammation in your lungs to improve your asthma and breathing problems. You can request to order it online from our online doctor service.

The active ingredient in Pulmicort is called budesonide. This is a type of medicine called a steroid and is used to treat various inflammatory diseases like asthma and Crohn’s disease.

Pulmicort Turbohaler is available in three strengths: 100 micrograms, 200 micrograms, and 400 micrograms.

How does Pulmicort work?

Steroid inhalers such as Pulmicort work by reducing the inflammation in your airways. Steroid inhalers are known as preventer inhalers because, by reducing the inflammation in your lungs, they improve asthma symptoms in the long term.

If you are experiencing immediate asthma symptoms like shortness of breath, you should still use your reliever inhaler, like Ventolin. Reliever inhalers help to open your airways in the short term and immediately improve symptoms, but they do not improve your asthma in the long term like steroid inhalers.

How to take Pulmicort

Learning how to use your budesonide inhaler properly is crucial and can greatly improve your treatment. Pulmicort Turbohaler is a type of ‘no push’ inhaler. This means that you don’t have to push to activate the inhaler as you do with some other inhalers.

To use Pulmicort Turbohaler, you have to load the device before every dose. To do this, hold the device upright, with the brown base at the bottom. Turn the brown base as far as it will go in one direction, and then turn it as far as it will go in the other direction.

It does not matter which direction you turn it in first, you should hear a click after turning it. This means that it is now ready to use.

To inhale the medicine, place the mouthpiece between your teeth and close your lips. Then breath in as deeply and as hard as you can through your mouth. Remove the mouthpiece from your mouth and breath out gently. This counts as one dose. 

For every dose, repeat the above steps, including turning the brown base to load the inhaler. You can see a video on how to use the inhaler on the Asthma UK website.

See the patient information leaflet for a detailed explanation of using your inhaler.

Effectiveness

Using your steroid inhaler, like Pulmicort, is a very important part of asthma treatment. Taking your steroid inhaler regularly every day will help to reduce inflammation in the lungs and can help to prevent asthma attacks and asthma symptoms. Your symptoms may improve within a few days of starting Pulmicort, but it can take up to 4 weeks for the medicine to have a full effect.

Pulmicort Summary

Pulmicort Prices

Pulmicort alternatives

There are several different steroid inhalers used to treat asthma. These are used as preventer inhalers, to reduce the inflammation in the lungs and improve symptoms. Examples include Clenil (contains beclometasone) and Flixotide (contains fluticasone).

Other asthma medications contain a combination of steroids and long-acting bronchodilators, which open up your airways. Examples of these combination inhalers include Symbicort Turbohaler and Seretide.

Pulmicort side effects

A common side effect of steroid inhalers is oral thrush. This can happen because some of the medicine stays in your mouth instead of being inhaled in your lungs. 

To prevent this from happening, you should use the inhaler exactly as described in the patient information leaflet. You should also rinse your mouth out with water or brush your teeth after using your inhaler. Using a spacer device can also help.

Other common side effects include a hoarse voice, coughing, and a sore throat.

Pulmicort can have serious, but more rare, side effects. This includes problems with your eyes, adrenal gland problems, and Cushing’s syndrome. If you notice any unusual or troublesome side effects, stop using Pulmicort and speak to your doctor or pharmacist immediately. See section 4 of the patient information leaflet for further information.

Before taking any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

• Pulmicort Patient Information Leaflet

Other conditions and Pulmicort

You should not take Pulmicort if you are allergic to the active ingredient budesonide or any of the ingredients in the inhaler. Pulmicort might not be suitable for people with a lung infection, liver problems, or a history of tuberculosis. If any of the above applies to you, speak to your doctor before using this inhaler. 

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor before using this inhaler. You should only use the inhaler if your doctor has told you to. If you become pregnant whilst using Pulmicort, keep using the inhaler but contact your doctor immediately.

Interactions with other medicines

Speak to your doctor or pharmacist before using Pulmicort if you use any other steroid medicines, antifungal medicines, or medicines to treat HIV. These medicines can interact with Pulmicort.