oh my!
i do hope you don't use ANY medication without your doctors advice!
as others said, that is a "rescue" inhaler that is only used "as needed" (some people need it daily, some people only when sick).
there are other inhalers for daily use.
there are inhalers & pills with steroids.
the list is endless what each of us need with our individual conditions.
if you haven't been diagnosed by a dr as COPD (which includes emphysema &/or bronchitis) or asthma you may have something that it could aggravate!
you don't say how long you have been unable to breath or if you have a productive or unproductive cough or what your symptoms are having for how long.
honey, insurance or no insurance, maybe it's time to see a dr.
you may have a virus or a bacterial infection or anything.
sorry, but i have many allergies & there are things even over the counter that can kill me; so this is kind of scary that a dr said "it couldn't hurt you"
that is "my opinion" anyway....
in the meantime; welcome to the greatest board on earth!

Hello again...
I had not realized you had not gotten the inhaler from a doctor that examined you! Please do not diagnose yourself, or settle for anything less than a good checkup.
The others could be right that you could have a lot of problems, including pneumonia, and any lung infection can be very serious with copd.
A lot of folks do not have insurance. Please go to the emergency room and tell them you are having trouble breathing, and have a doctor check you out.
You can work out payments with them, the main thing is to get proper care. These doctors you work with should have given you better advice.
If you are 65 in Texas, you qualify for medicare, is it not the same where you are? Do you qualify for medicaide? There are options out there, but please do not take other peoples meds or inhalers, and please get checked out.
Hugs
Brenda

Welcome to the greatest group this side of everywhere. I don't have health insurance either, so I understand your concerns. Insurance or not, go to the Emergency Room and get help if you need to, before you have to. Last time I was worried about lack of insurance I wound up in the hospital for two weeks. The time before that I was in the hospital for a week and almost died because I didn't want to go because of lack of insurance. Take care. Health and blessings.

Like Joany Ventolin HFA is my rescue inhaler and I have other meds for long term. In the morning I use Spiriva then twice a day Advair. I use a nebulizer twice a day with albuteral sulfate in it. Like Joany I have emphysema and I've never had any side with the Ventolin . Some of these meds have long lists of possible side effects but I think it depends wholly on the person and each person needs to give feedback to their doctor if they have any side effects at all.

Also a BIG HUG welcome to the group and hope to see you out here often. Ruthie (aka dollaraudit)

First, O&B I hope you have found some medical care, one on one, in person.

Secondly, as others have said if you read the list from the pharmacy you would be flushing the meds down the toilet in fear of the side effects. They do have to cover their butts for every possible scenario.
What's worse is the big pharma prime time commercials that show the happy active patient who takes the meds and then tell you about side effects include growing an arm out your ear if you took an aspirin last week, etc.

Good health to you and all :)

I used Ventolin HFA inhaler and thought it was great. I never had a problem with it. I first used it in a hospital. It was for my rescue inhaler 4 x daily also using the Symbicort twice daily and Spiriva once daily.

I have used it and prefer it to ProAir for my asthma. I use it as a rescue inhaler though, so I realize the usage may be different for COPD. My dad uses it for COPD and its fine.

There is NO SUCH THING!
While a particular product may be safer in general for the average population when compared to some other product - ALL medications have possible side-effects and may be dangerous for someone.

The most commonly reported side effects when taking Asthalin Inhaler include: headache, tremor, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat); less common side effects include, palpitations, mouth and throat irritation, and muscle cramps.

You should not use Asthalin Inhaler if you; allergic to salbutamol or any of the other ingredients in your Asthalin inhaler; or are taking medicines that interact with Asthalin, including: non-selective beta-blockers like propranolol, xanthines like theophylline or aminophylline for asthma, corticosteroids like beclometasone and prednisolone for asthma, other beta 2 agonists, such as salmeterol, diuretics like furosemide for heart failure

ALL inhaled asthma bronchodilator medications can cause paradoxical bronchospasm, which is when the inhaled medication taken to relieve or prevent bronchospasm actually makes it worse, causing wheezing, and shortness of breath and tightness of the chest. If this happens you stop using your Asthalin Inhaler, inform your doctor and take their advice.

My very favorite brand of rescue inhaler.

Hugs.

I'm not sure how this discussion got re-started, but the initial date is 9/29/13. It could be a DS hiccup.

I love it and I was afraid of it as well.

Like Joany I have used the Ventolin HFA inhaler as my rescue inhaler and never had a problem and it let me get air into my struggling heart when I got really short winded. Normally I use Proventil HFA but it's the same thing and for me there wasn't much difference except that Proventil HFA is a Merck drug and I qualified for their manufacturers free program. In fact I just got my first shipment. These respiratory drugs can be really expensive and I hit the Medicare famous donut hole every year because I have Spiriva and Advair plus other drugs and my spouse has REALLY expensive drugs - i.e. insulin and we just canot handle the co-pays. Please don't be afraid of your inhaler - it could save you some day because it is a fast acting drug where the others are long term maintenance drugs. Best wishes and BIG HUGS - SORRY to be so long winded - Ruthie

wow this post is sooooooooo old...not sure how that happened??

I think it was my fault.
Someone ((I failed to saved the name) posted a reply suggesting that the OP should use *Asthalin* instead - indicating that it was perfectly safe with no side-effects. That was so extremely bad advice I jumped in with my answer There is NO SUCH THING! I too didnt notice that the original post was that old.

Apparently that responder is a well-known spammer/troll as that message was deleted, but left my reply.

I use it for asthma and it is my preferred inhaler out of the albuterol options out there, I have not had any side effects from it.