Advair is an asthma treatment product that's available in two formulations: a metered-dose inhaler that dispenses short bursts of aerosolized medication and a round purple diskus inhaler that produces a powdered form of the drug. Both formulations contain specific amounts of salmeterol, a long-acting drug that opens the airways and fluticasone propionate, a steroid to reduce airway inflammation. Both formulations have the same adverse effects.
Types
Advair causes serious adverse effects, including bronchospasm, or narrowing of the airways, cardiac arrhythmias, rapid heartbeat, fever, productive cough and visual disturbances such as blurred vision or seeing halos around lights. In some cases, Advair treatment makes asthma symptoms much worse, and there have been fatalities linked to the salmeterol in Advair inhalers. Fluticasone can reduce the immune response, leading to localized yeast infections in the mouth or even pneumonia. The most serious adverse effect is a life-threatening allergic response called anaphylaxis, according to Drugs.com.
Features
Bronchospasm, worsening asthma and anaphylaxis can all cause cough, wheezing and difficulty breathing, while people with arrhythmias or rapid heartbeat may feel dizzy and faint. Oral yeast infections create painful white patches or painful sores inside the mouth or on the lips, according to Drugs.com.
Considerations
When someone has breathing problems after Advair inhalation, it can be difficult to determine which adverse effect is in play. Individuals with asthma have their own patterns of asthma symptoms, and should be able to identify those associated with worsening of their chronic disease. Drugs.com recommends that Advair users use a peak flow meter to measure lung capacity on a regular basis, since a decrease in peak flow may indicate worsening of the underlying disease. Bronchospasm typically causes chest tightness, wheezing and difficulty breathing, while anaphylaxis often begins with hives and swelling of the face, throat or lips before progressing to severe shortness of breath and even death.
Warning
Increasing either the frequency of Advair inhalations or the number of Advair inhalations at each scheduled dosage time will increase the risk of adverse effects, says Daily Med.
Tip
People who rinse their mouths out after inhaling Advair are less likely to develop yeast infections from the fluticasone, according to the Asthma Society of Canada.
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