What is Ventolin HFA Inhaler (Albuterol Sulfate)?
Known as Salbutamol in the scientific community, Ventolin has many other names that asthma patients over the world know: Proventil, Activent, Apo-Salvent, and many others. Salbutamol is an extremely popular anti-asthma compound that is also used to treat a wide divergence of diseases and symptoms related to breathing in general. As an effective yet safe drug, Salbutamol has been approved in the vast majority of Western countries.
First introduced to the market over 60 years ago in Britain, Salbutamol made itself a name and in 1980s arrived to America immediately taking a large portion of the market. The drug presented an elegant time-tested solution against asthma. It had less adverse effects than many other drugs and was priced reasonably.
Here’s an incomplete list of possible medical applications of Ventolin and its generics:
- Works as an effective bronchodilator and opens up lungs to promote easier breathing and prevent suffocation;
- Can be used as an effective anti-symptomatic treatment of asthma and breathing problems of an unknown etiology;
- Bronchoconstriction can also be treated by Ventolin and many other Salbutamol-based medications;
- Can be used as an effective addition to a treatment course for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
With such a wide assemblage of potential applications, Ventolin remains one of leaders in all pharmaceutical markets. Advair and its generics directly challenge the position of Salbutamol in the worldwide pharmaceutical industry by also providing an effective solution.
What is Advair Diskus Inhaler (Fluticasone / Salmeterol)?
Advair is one of more popular names of a generic drug that is essentially a combination of a corticosteroid Fluticasone propionate and a beta-adrenergic receptor agonist (ABA) Salmeterol which is a reactionary tool for treating symptoms of asthma like shortness of breath and coughing. Salmeterol works similarly to Salbutamol and actually belongs to the same class of drugs. There are two distinct types of ABAs – long-acting referred to as LABA and short-acting referred to as SABA. They work akin but the effect lasts for different periods of time.
Fluticasone is another part of Advair and similar inhalers. This corticosteroid is used in treatment of a wide variety of diseases including allergic rhinitis, Crohn’s disease, and asthma. There are other possible applications of Fluticasone propionate. As any other corticosteroid, it affects multiple physiological processes in the body including metabolic reactions, carbohydrate processing, and metabolism of fats and proteins.
As an anti-asthmatic instruments, corticosteroids cemented their position in the market and Fluticasone is definitely one of the most popular drugs in the whole industry. Manufactured in an inhalable powder or liquid, it works perfectly when combined with any LABA. The most common combination is a balanced mixture of Fluticasone propionate and Salmeterol. The latter serves the purpose of easing the process of breathing and immediately relieving symptoms while the former is used for recreational usage and reduces recurring symptoms of asthma.
In chronic cases, using a nebuilser to administrate both fluticasone and salmeterol or even salbutamol can be the only answer to a problem. There are severe chronic asthma cases when using nearly constant supply of corticosteroids and ABAs is the only efficient method of treatment.
Advantages and Disadvantages of this Inhalers
Ventolin and Advair are two incredibly different drugs in essence. The former is a standalone SABA drug that is used mostly to temporarily counteract asthmatic symptoms like shortness of breath and coughing. The latter is a complex of drugs that is supposed to be used as both immediate anti-symptomatic tool and as a recreational drug to complement your treatment plan. It is simply unfair to compare these two groups of drugs. However, some comparisons can be made.
Ventolin is an affordable and simple solution that is known anywhere on the planet. It is the go-to answer for many cases of asthma that are not severe or with a low reoccurrence rate. In such cases having a simple quickly acting drug that immediately brings relief can be more important than implementing in your daily routine a carefully measured dosage of corticosteroids. While corticosteroids like Fluticasone propionate are definitely important, many asthma patients do not need them to treat their condition.
However, Advair is a far more superior drug for those people who need not only relief of symptoms by recreational treatment. When you need a systematic treatment plan that will help you to gradually reduce symptoms and their occurrence rate, medications like Advair are more preferable simply due to the fact that they are a bit more versatile compared to strictly reactionary SABA drugs like Ventolin and its generics.
Essentially, the difference lies alongside advantages and disadvantages for various patients lies within the range of potential applications for drugs. Both medications can be used to relief symptoms, but one is a more common solution that does not offer a long term answer to the issue of asthma, and another is a recreational tool for those who need a systematic type of treatment.
Note that patients should decide on their own which drug is more preferable. Due to the inherent fundamental difference between two drugs, their purposes also drastically differ. Thus, each patient should decide which is more important and suitable for their condition. If you need a quicker reactionary drug with a wide range of applications, Ventolin is great. It has less potential interactions with drugs like Ritonavir and ketoconazole. It can be used in many cases of allergies safely. However, if treating reoccurring asthma is more important, having a combination of corticosteroids and an ABA-type of drug is definitely more appropriate.
Notable Drug Interactions
Another line of differences can be drawn within the spectrum of drug interactions for Ventolin and Advair. The latter is not a single drug and consists of two distinct elements – Fluticasone propionate and salmeterol. One is a corticosteroid. Another one is a long-acting beta-adrenergic receptor agonist. Corticosteroids often interact negatively with a wide range of drugs including antibiotics, anti-fungal drugs, and many other.
Amongst most notable interactions of Advair we must highlight two:
- Ritonavir – a famous drug that is a part of any HIV treatment plan. Ritonavir essentially increases the count of corticosteroids in the organism leading to various complications such as Cushing’s syndrome and, to a lesser degree, adrenal suppression.
- Ketoconazole is a commonly used antifungal drug. Mixing it with regular intakes of Advair is dangerous due to the fact that the count of corticosteroids is increased immediately since ketoconazole is also a corticosteroid.
This does not mean that taking Salbutamol is not related to any negative drug interactions. All SABA and LABA drugs also interact with steroids and corticosteroids as well as beta blockers and diuretics.
An incomplete list of drug interactions of Salbutamol includes:
- Antidepressants especially tricyclic;
- Ipratropium bromide – a common drug used to treat asthma;
- All beta-blockers;
- Steroids especially prednisolone.
- Depending on what drugs you plan to take and what health conditions bother you the most, you can opt to use either Ventolin or Advair. Note that all downsides of Advair also can be found in Ventolin. However, due to a presence of Fluticasone, Advair has a bit more possible negative interactions and side effects which is also something to that should be considered.
As mentioned before, making a direct comparison between two drugs is pointless due to the fact that these two inhalers are vastly different drugs despite being marketed as similar answers to the same problem.
Choose Wisely
MedSupplyDrive.org offers you to choose from a very rich selection of anti-asthma inhalers like Ventolin and Advair. We monitor many generics of these drugs and always search for new drugs in the market that can have an impact. Depending on your current situation, budget, and health condition, you can choose the most effective drug that will become a precise tool in your anti-asthmatic therapy!
We also recommend you to have both drugs at your disposal since they serve different purposes. If you have an asthma caused by temporary things like allergy, use Salbutamol and similar inhalers. When you need to answer a reoccurring problem or a peaking chronic condition, systematic usage of Advair is a more preferable solution. In order to make your treatment plan effective, make sure to include both medicines in your drug box at home!