Fluticasone Propionate Aerosol, Inhalation floo-TIK-a-sone

What are other names for this medicine?

Type of medicine: corticosteroid

Generic and brand names: fluticasone propionate aerosol, inhalation; Flovent HFA

What is this medicine used for?

This medicine is a steroid that is inhaled through the mouth as long-term treatment to prevent asthma attacks. You may be able to reduce the dose of other steroids that you take in pill form to treat asthma.

This medicine will not stop asthma attacks that have already started. Your healthcare provider will prescribe another medicine to be used during an attack.

What should my health care provider know before I take this medicine?

Before taking this medicine, tell your healthcare provider if you have ever had:

• an allergic reaction to any medicine or to milk proteins
• diabetes
• glaucoma or cataracts

Tell your provider if you have any kind of infection or fever, especially tuberculosis or herpes.

Females of childbearing age: Talk with your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether this medicine will harm an unborn baby. Do not breast-feed while taking this medicine without your healthcare provider's approval.

How do I use it?

This medicine must be inhaled regularly to be effective, usually twice a day. This medicine is made in 3 different strengths. Your healthcare provider will determine which strength is best for you. Check the label on the medicine for directions about your specific dose. Follow directions carefully.

You may feel better in a day or two, or you may need to use the medicine for 2 weeks to feel its full benefit. Do not increase or decrease the dosage on your own. Use this medicine exactly as your healthcare provider prescribes. Continue to take any other medicines that your healthcare provider has prescribed for you. If you are not getting results, contact your healthcare provider.

Read and follow the instructions that come in the medicine package. If you do not understand how to use this medicine, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist to explain.

Wash your hands before using this medicine. If you are not using a spacer, the technique most often recommended is as follows:

1. Shake the metered dose inhaler (MDI) vigorously.
2. Hold the MDI upright so the mouthpiece is at the bottom.
3. Hold the unit upright between your index finger on top and your thumb at the bottom of the unit. One way to use the MDI is to hold the mouthpiece 1-and-1/2 to 2 inches in front of an open mouth (about 2 to 3 finger widths). If the open mouth technique is too hard, you may place the MDI mouthpiece directly into your mouth and close your lips snugly around it. Talk with your provider or pharmacist about this.
4. Breathe out normally.
5. Press the MDI down once so it releases a spray of medicine into your mouth while you breathe in slowly. (One spray is called a puff.) Each time you press down, a metered (measured) dose is delivered.
6. Continue breathing in as slowly and deeply as possible.
7. Hold your breath for 5 to 10 seconds, or as long as is comfortable (this gives the medicine time to reach the airways).
8. Breathe out slowly.
9. Take a few normal breaths and then repeat steps 1 through 8 for another inhalation (puff) if required.

Your provider may suggest that you use a spacer. The spacer helps you get the right amount of medicine.

To use the inhaler with a spacer:

1. Shake the metered dose inhaler (MDI) vigorously.
2. Hold the MDI upright so the mouthpiece is at the bottom.
3. Insert the mouthpiece of the inhaler into the rubber-sealed end of the spacer.
4. Place the spacer into your mouth. Breathe slowly in and out of the spacer several times.
5. Press the MDI down once so it releases a spray of medicine into the spacer while you breathe in deeply through your mouth. Each time you press down, a metered (measured) dose is delivered. (One spray is called a puff.)
6. Hold your breath for 5 to 10 seconds and then breathe out slowly. If you are unable to hold your breath, another method is to breathe in and out slowly for 3 to 5 breaths.
7. If your provider prescribes more than 1 puff, wait 1 minute, and then repeat steps 1 through 6.

Take the number of puffs prescribed by your healthcare provider. If you do not understand how to use the inhaler, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist to demonstrate.

Rinse your mouth with water after each use to prevent thrush (a fungal infection that shows up as white spots on your tongue and in your mouth).

If you are using other inhaled medicines, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist which you should use first. Use inhaled medicines 10 minutes apart from each other.

What if I miss a dose?

Use the medicine on the schedule your healthcare provider prescribes for you. If you miss a dose, use it as soon as you remember unless it is almost time for the next scheduled dose. In that case, skip the missed dose and take the next one as directed. Do not take double doses. If you are not sure about what to do if you miss a dose, or if you miss more than one dose, contact your healthcare provider.

What if I overdose?

An acute overdose of this medicine is not likely to cause life-threatening symptoms. If you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much of this medicine, call the poison control center at 800-222-1222.

What should I watch out for?

This medicine must not be the only medicine you use to treat asthma. You must also use another asthma control medicine.

In people with asthma, long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonists increase the risk of asthma-related death. Talk with your healthcare provider about this. If you have any of these signs of worsening asthma, call your healthcare provider right away:

• You need to use more puffs than usual of your short-acting inhaler or use it more often.
• You have severe breathing trouble that does not improve, such as persistent wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath.
• You have a bluish color in your lips or fingernails or cannot speak.
• You have any asthma symptoms that are getting worse.

Do not use this medicine for sudden breathing problems. Your healthcare provider may also prescribe a short-acting inhaled medicine to use when you have a sudden breathing problem. Use all medicines as directed by your healthcare provider.

You may get infections more easily when you are taking this medicine. Stay away from people with colds, flu, or other infections. If you are exposed to an infectious disease, contact your healthcare provider right away. Chickenpox or measles may be more serious than usual while you are using this medicine. Also, do not have any vaccines without getting your healthcare provider's approval first.

If you need emergency care, surgery, or dental work, tell the healthcare provider or dentist you are using this medicine.

If you have any injury, surgery, infection, severe asthma attacks, or periods of stress, you may need to take more steroids by mouth. Report any of these problems to your healthcare provider right away.

An adult should supervise the use of this medicine by a child.

This medicine may limit growth in children who take it in high doses for more than 4Â weeks.

What are the possible side effects?

Along with its needed effects, your medicine may cause some unwanted side effects. Some side effects may be very serious. Some side effects may go away as your body adjusts to the medicine. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that continue or get worse.

Life-threatening (Report these to your healthcare provider right away. If you cannot reach your healthcare provider right away, get emergency medical care or call 911 for help): Allergic reaction (hives; itching; rash; trouble breathing; tightness in your chest; swelling of your lips, tongue, and throat).

Serious (report these to your healthcare provider right away): Trouble breathing or catching your breath.

Other: Headache, dizziness, sore throat, hoarseness, stuffy nose, chest infection, white patches in your mouth.

What products might interact with this medicine?

When you take this medicine with other medicines, it can change the way this or any of the other medicines work. Nonprescription medicines, vitamins, natural remedies, and certain foods may also interact. Using these products together might cause harmful side effects. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are taking:

• anti-HIV medicines such as darunavir (Prezista) and tipranavir (Aptivus)
• itraconazole (Sporanox) and ketoconazole (Nizoral)

If you are not sure if your medicines might interact, ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider. Keep a list of all your medicines with you. List all the prescription medicines, nonprescription medicines, supplements, natural remedies, and vitamins that you take. Be sure that you tell all healthcare providers who treat you about all the products you are taking.

How should I store this medicine?

Store this medicine at room temperature. Store the canister with nozzle side down. Protect it from freezing and direct sunlight. Do not puncture the can. Protect it from heat to keep the can from exploding.

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This advisory includes selected information only and may not include all side effects of this medicine or interactions with other medicines. Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for more information or if you have any questions.

Ask your pharmacist for the best way to dispose of outdated medicine or medicine you have not used. Do not throw medicine in the trash.

Keep all medicines out of the reach of children.

Do not share medicines with other people.

Developed by RelayHealth.
Medication Advisor 2012.1 published by RelayHealth.
Last modified: 2010-09-13
Last reviewed: 2010-03-02
This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information is intended to inform and educate and is not a replacement for medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.
© 2012 RelayHealth and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.