Questions & answers about Symbicort

What is Symbicort?
How does Symbicort work?
Why should I adjust the Symbicort dose by stepping up or down?
How is it possible to adjust the Symbicort dose by stepping up or down?
Does Symbicort work as fast as ‘blue’ reliever inhaler, e.g Bricanyl® and Ventolin™?
Is it safe to use Symbicort long-term?

Taking your asthma treatment every day, even when you feel completely well, is very important. It is also helpful to get to know the things that trigger (or set off) your asthma symptoms, for example, cigarette smoke or cats, and avoid them whenever possible. Finally, regular check-ups with your doctor or asthma nurse will help monitor your symptoms and keep your asthma under control.

With any treatment, however simple, you are likely to have a few questions about how it works or when to take it etc. This information aims to answer questions you may have about Symbicort.

What is Symbicort?

Symbicort® is a combination inhaler that contains two separate medications, a preventer and a controller/reliever in the same one inhaler.

The preventer medicine is an anti-inflammatory medicine called budesonide (Pulmicort). The anti-inflammatory effect of regular treatment with budesonide helps to prevent asthma symptoms. Formoterol (Oxis) is the controller medicine that relaxes and opens up the small airways, helping you to breathe more easily and avoid an attack. Formoterol not only works for a long period of time, but you will also feel the effect quickly – in fact as quickly as your usual (blue) reliever medication. Because of this speed, formoterol can act as both a controller and reliever.

When you use Symbicort, you can expect fast relief from asthma symptoms (within 1-3 minutes after inhaling the medicine) as well as long-lasting control. You should have fewer asthma symptoms during the day and at night, and be able to do more activities without getting breathless.

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How does Symbicort work?

Symbicort contains a combination of two active ingredients, budesonide and formoterol.

Budesonide reduces and prevents the swelling that asthma causes in your airways and formoterol widens the airways, making it easier for you to breathe.

Symbicort works quickly and for a long period of time. The airway-opening effect of Symbicort appears within 1-3 minutes of inhaling, and lasts for at least 12 hours.

You should use Symbicort regularly to prevent asthma symptoms.

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Why should I adjust the Symbicort dose by stepping up or down?

You should take Symbicort as instructed by your doctor or nurse.

With Symbicort, you may have been instructed by your doctor or nurse that you can increase the dose when you feel your asthma worsening, and when your asthma control returns to it’s normal level you can decrease the dose. For example, the usual dose for adults and adolescents 12 years and older is 1-2 inhalations once or twice daily. However, during periods when your asthma is bothersome you can increase the dose to 4 inhalations twice daily. Once your asthma control returns to its normal level you should return to your normal daily dose.

Large clinical studies have showed that stepping up and stepping down the regular Symbicort dose in this way will reduce the number of asthma attacks compared to keeping the dose fixed, despite the fact that you are taking less medication overall.

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How is it possible to adjust the Symbicort dose by stepping up or down?

Symbicort has unique properties which makes it the only combined asthma medication where the dose can be adjusted, using the same one inhaler. The inhaled anti-inflammatory medicine budesonide and the airway opener formoterol both show clear dose response – that is, the higher the dose the greater the effect.

With Symbicort you have the option of taking between one and eight inhalations throughout the day, using the same one inhaler. In practical terms this means that you can, according to the instructions your doctor or nurse have given you, adjust the number of doses in a day according to the severity of your asthma. This will ensure that you are taking an appropriate dose of medication at any time, thus preventing both over- and under-treatment of your asthma.

During periods of worsened asthma your doctor or nurse may recommend you to increase your regular dose of Symbicort, and in the same way reduce the dose when you feel better.

Clinical studies have shown that adjusting the dose of Symbicort according to how the asthma varies rather than taking a specific fixed dose, will improve asthma control despite the fact that the overall amount of medication taken will be less.

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Does Symbicort work as fast as ‘blue’ reliever inhaler, e.g Bricanyl® and Ventolin™?

Yes – Symbicort will improve lung function within one to three minutes of inhaling. However, Symbicort must not be used to replace your usual reliever inhaler. Symbicort must be taken on a regular daily basis as instructed by your doctor or nurse and if your have symptoms you should use your reliever inhaler in the usual way.

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Is it safe to use Symbicort long-term?

The risk of side effects with Symbicort is very low. Several large, long-term clinical studies have shown that people experience very few side effects when taking Symbicort regularly.

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Symbicort prescribing information