Inhaled bronchodilators · Respiratory
Salbutamol
albuterol · Ventolin®(brand names vary by market)
The blue reliever: minutes to onset, hours of bronchodilation, and a usage meter for asthma control.
Also: oral liquid, infusion
Mechanism
Short-acting beta-2 agonist: airway smooth-muscle relaxation via cAMP; onset within minutes, lasting 4-6 hours.
Open the interactive pathwayIndications
- Acute relief of bronchospasm in asthma and COPD
- Pre-exercise prophylaxis
- (IV/nebulized roles in acute care, including temporizing hyperkalemia)
Formulations
Dosing concepts
Technique is the dose
A perfect inhaler with poor technique delivers nothing; spacer devices rescue most technique problems with MDIs.
Overuse signal
Needing the reliever more than about twice a week (outside exercise) means the controller plan is failing. Escalate assessment, not just puffs.
Concepts, not prescribing instructions. Practice numbers live in current references and local protocols.
Pharmacokinetics
- Half-life
- ~4-6 h (effect duration)
- Elimination
- mixed
Adverse effects
- Tremor, palpitationscommon
- Tachycardiacommon
- Hypokalemia at high/repeated dosesserious
Contraindications & precautions
Contraindications
- Hypersensitivity to components
Precautions
- Severe cardiovascular disease with heavy use
Interactions
Monitoring
Reliever use frequency
The single best asthma-control question a pharmacist can ask
Inhaler technique, every visit
Decays over time in everyone
Counselling points
- Shake, breathe out fully, seal lips, press and breathe in slowly and deeply, hold ten seconds, and use the spacer if you have one.
- If you are using this more than twice a week, tell us; the plan needs adjusting, not just refilling.
Clinical pearls
- Refill frequency of the blue inhaler is a control audit hiding in the dispensing record.
References & review
- Salbutamol product monograph (consult the current version for your market) (monograph)
- Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 14th ed. (reference-work)
Last reviewed 2026-08-15 · jurisdiction: global · drug information changes; verify against current references before practice use.