Medicine delivery devices

Most asthma medicines are given with a device that lets a child breathe the medicine directly into the lungs. Your child's medicine may be delivered with one of these devices:

• Metered dose inhaler. These small hand-held devices are a common delivery method for asthma medicine. To make sure your child gets the correct dose, a hollow tube called a spacer can be attached to the inhaler.
• Dry powder inhalers. For some asthma medicines, your child may have one of these devices. A dry powder inhaler requires a deep, rapid breath in to get the full dose of medicine.
• Nebulizer.This device turns medicine into a fine mist. Your child breathes the mist in through a face mask. Nebulizers can deliver larger doses of medicines into the lungs than inhalers can. Young children often need to use a nebulizer. That's because it's hard or not possible for them to use other inhaler devices.