Flovent, one of the most commonly prescribed childhood asthma inhalers, is no longer being manufactured in the United States.
This preventative medication is usually taken every day to help keep an asthma patient’s symptoms under control.
Dr. Laura Conrad, an attending Physician in the Division of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center, explains how Flovent was used to treat childhood asthma.
“Flovent is in the class of medications that we call inhaled corticosteroids, which we commonly referred to as controller medications,” Conrad told USA TODAY. “These medications help to reduce inflammation in the airways of the lungs of children with asthma. This helps to prevent asthma attacks from happening, particularly when children are exposed to asthma triggers such as the common cold or allergens.”
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the inhaler, took if off the shelves on Jan. 1 and replaced it with a generic version, Fluticasone.
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Generic inhaler option Fluticasone is same as Flovent, a pediatrician says
Fluticasone Propionate, also known by the brand name Flonase, is a glucocorticoid used to treat asthma, inflammatory pruritic dermatoses, and nonallergic rhinitis, according to Drug Bank.
“Fluticasone is the medication in Flovent. It’s just the generic version and the same medication,” Conrad said. “It should be a…
