Explanation

Budesonide (also called Budelin and Easyhaler Budesonide) is a medicine used to prevent asthma. It belongs to a family of medicines called corticosteroids.

What does budesonide do?

Budesonide helps control your asthma by preventing and reducing the inflammation in your lungs.

Inflammation makes your lungs swell up and stops them from working properly. This can cause some of the feelings of asthma, like wheeziness and breathlessness.

Budesonide stops your body over-reacting to the things that trigger your asthma. By reducing inflammation, budesonide helps to stop or prevent the feelings of asthma from happening in the first place. So, it is called a preventer medicine.

What does it look like?

Budesonide comes as a powder inside an inhaler. It can also be taken as a tablet.

When do I have to take it?

It is important to take budesonide regularly, every day, to help stop you getting asthma attacks.

You will probably use your inhaler one or to two times each day - in the morning and evening, or just in the evening. Your doctor or asthma attacksnurse will tell you exactly how many puffs to take and how often.

DO NOT use budesonide if you suddenly get breathless or wheezy - it will not help. You will need another type of medicine for this. The medicine you take if you feel breathless or wheezy is called a reliever. Your doctor might have already given you an inhaler that holds this sort of medicine. If so, make sure you don't get your inhalers mixed up!

But what if I don't feel like taking it?

If you don't take your budesonide regularly every day, then it won't work properly. Your lungs might get inflamed again and you will be more likely to have an asthma attack.

Even if you feel better you still need to keep taking it! Don't stop unless your doctor tells you to.

What should I do if I forget to take it?

If you do forget to take your budesonide, don't worry. Take it as soon as you remember, or miss out your forgotten dose and take the next dose when it is due.

How much do I take?

This depends on how old you are and how bad your asthma is. Your doctor will try to give you the lowest dose possible to control your asthma. It takes a few days before the medicine starts to work.

Your doctor or asthma nurse will tell you exactly how many puffs YOU need to take each day. You will probably need to take a dose in the morning and the evening.

Always make sure you use your inhaler exactly as your doctor or asthma nurse has told you!

If your asthma is really bad, you might need to take a high dose every day at first. The doctor will then lower the dose once you start getting better.

Don't use your inhaler more often than your doctor tells you! It's important to take just the right amount. This is the best way to stay well, without getting side effects.

What are the most likely side effects I might get?

The side effects you are most likely to get include having a sore throat or sore tongue after using your inhaler, or your voice being a little bit croaky, and problems swallowing.

You might also get an infection called oral thrush in your mouth or throat. Rinsing your mouth out with water or cleaning your teeth right after using your inhaler can help to stop these things from happening.

Tell your doctor if you notice any of these side effects, but don't stop taking your budesonide unless he or she tells you to.

What other side effects might I get?

Other less likely side effects that you might get include:

Feeling very sad or empty

Feeling angry or irritable

Feeling restless

Feeling like moving around a lot

A rash on your skin

Growing more slowly

Thinking strange or unreal thoughts

If you notice any of these side effects tell your doctor.

Are there any other side effects you haven't mentioned?

It is possible that you could get some other side effects, but they are very unusual. These include:

Feeling nervous

Problems with your vision

Weak bones

Pressure building in your eye (this can be shown in eye tests)

Making your adrenal gland less active

Is it safe for me to be taking budesonide?

Before using budesonide, you should tell the doctor about any other medical problems that you know you have.

Especially if you:

Have ever had a lung infection called tuberculosis (TB)

Have an infection in your eye, mouth or chest

Have any liver problems

Also, remember to tell your doctor if you have any allergies - to budesonide or anything else. Budesonide also contains lactose (a type of sugar) and small amounts of milk protein, so tell your doctor if you are allergic to either of these.

Is it okay for me to take budesonide if I'm already taking other medicines?

Make sure you tell your doctor if you're taking any other medicines, including anything you have bought without a prescription.

You should also mention any special foods or herbal remedies you are using.

It's especially important to tell your doctor if you're taking any of the following anti-fungal drugs:

ketoconazole

intraconazole

You should also tell you doctor if you're taking:

any other medicine for asthma that might contain corticosteroids

these could be as tablets or in inhalers

Do I need to know anything else about budesonide?

If you notice that your wheeziness is getting worse, or if you find that you are using your reliever inhaler more often, tell the adults looking after you or your doctor as soon as you can. It may be that your asthma is getting worse and perhaps you need extra medicine to help.

What if I have any more questions?

If you have any other questions, you can ask your doctor, or chat to other people with asthma in the Medikidz forums and virtual world, Mediland.