With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandating that inhalers for asthma medication make a transition to become more environmentally friendly, some patients are feeling a bit confused about what the change will mean. The shift won't be in the medications themselves but in the substances used to propel them out of the devices, Springfield allergist Dr. Ingrid Alexander said.

By Dec. 31, 2008, all albuterol inhalers that use a chlorofluorocarbon dispensing mechanism will be replaced by the more environmentally sound hydrofluoroalkane mechanism. The decision came to gradually reduce the number of CFC inhalers to zero because they were contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer. Although patients won't feel quite as strong a puff as they dispense their medications, they'll still be getting an effective dose, Alexander said.

"They're not feeling the same type of pressure," she said, "so they think the inhaler is not working."

In actuality, Alexander said, the hydrofluoroalkane-based inhalers actually deliver medication more effectively because they don't spray as fast as their chlorofluorocarbon counterparts, and more medication is actually inhaled.

One thing patients should not do with their hydrofluoroalkane inhalers is place them in water, Alexander said. Doctors commonly instruct their patients to see if their chlorofluorocarbon inhalers float to determine whether they have any medication left. Alexander said careful monitoring of the number of doses metered out in the new inhalers should help patients keep track without having to perform a test.

"Asthma is so prevalent, and it is the major cause of school absences and parents missing work because of kids," Alexander said.

She said she hoped for a smooth transition to the new devices to help parents, children and adults with asthma keep control of the disease.

For more information on the change, visit the Asthma and Allergy Foundation Web site at www.aafa.org.

Annie Getsinger can be reached at agetsinger@herald-review.com 421-6968.