Inhaler with a spacer and mask, for a young child

The steps

1. Sit the child upright on your lap, facing forward or sideways.
2. Take the cap off the inhaler and shake it well.
3. Fit the inhaler into the back of the spacer.
4. Place the mask over the child's nose and mouth so that it seals against the face.
5. Press the inhaler once.
6. Keep the mask in place while the child takes 5 to 10 normal breaths.
7. For a second puff: take the mask off the face, take the inhaler out and shake it again, fit it back, wait about half a minute, and repeat from step 4.

Never press two puffs into the spacer together. Most of the medicine sticks to the walls.

Good to know

• A crying child takes in very little medicine. Calm the child first, make it a game, or let them hold the spacer.
• From about 4 to 5 years, most children can use the spacer with a mouthpiece instead of a mask. It delivers more medicine. Ask us to show you.
• After a steroid (preventer) inhaler: rinse the child's mouth or give a drink of water, and wipe the face where the mask sat.
• Check the dose counter. Do not test whether an inhaler is empty by floating it in water.
• A new inhaler, or one not used for a week or more, needs test sprays into the air first. See the leaflet.

Cleaning the spacer

• Once a month, and after a chest infection. Wash a new spacer before its first use.
• Take it apart. Wash in lukewarm water with a little dish-washing liquid.
• Let it drip dry in the air. Do not wipe the inside with a cloth: wiping creates static that traps the medicine.
• Whether to rinse the soap off differs between spacers. Follow the leaflet that came with yours.
• Replace the spacer every year, or at once if it cracks or the valve stops moving.