Pulmicort Turbohaler

Pulmicort is a preventer inhaler containing budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid. It's used in the long-term daily control of asthma in adults and children, and is also available as a nebuliser solution (Pulmicort Respules) for younger children, more severe cases, or during hospital treatment.

Like Clenil and QVAR, budesonide reduces the underlying airway inflammation that drives asthma symptoms. By taking it every day, you suppress the slow-burning irritation in the airways and make them less likely to flare when exposed to triggers.

The Turbohaler is a dry powder inhaler, which means it's used quite differently from a pressurised metered-dose inhaler. You hold it upright, twist the base back and forth until it clicks (this loads a dose), breathe out gently away from the mouthpiece, then place your lips around the mouthpiece and breathe in as forcefully and deeply as you can. Hold your breath for around ten seconds, then breathe out gently. Because the Turbohaler relies on your own inhalation to draw the dose into the lungs, a strong, steady breath in is essential — a slow, gentle breath in (which works for a pressurised inhaler) won't deliver the right dose here.

This is a common worry, and it's usually reassuring. The dose from a Turbohaler is so small that you genuinely won't feel or taste much. Some people taste a faint dryness or a slight chalkiness; many feel nothing at all. The dose counter on the back is what tells you the inhaler is working — not the sensation of the breath.

For the same reason as with any preventer: the inflammation continues silently between flares, and stopping the medication is one of the most reliable ways to allow asthma to deteriorate.

Hoarse voice, oral thrush, throat irritation, and occasional coughing on inhalation are most commonly reported, just as with other inhaled steroids. Rinsing the mouth and gargling with water after each dose substantially reduces both hoarseness and thrush.

Some early benefit within a week or two, full effect at four to six weeks of consistent use.

Pulmicort Respules are small plastic vials of budesonide solution used in a nebuliser — a machine that turns the medicine into a fine mist breathed through a mask or mouthpiece. They're commonly used in younger children who can't yet manage an inhaler and spacer, in severe flares, and in some hospital settings. They're not generally a first-line option for adults, who can usually achieve good control with a Turbohaler.

Yes. Budesonide is one of the most extensively studied inhaled steroids in pregnancy, with reassuring data overall, and is widely considered safe to continue during pregnancy and breastfeeding.