DAYTON, Ohio — A national shortage is making it harder for hospitals and patients to get a hold of Albuterol, a medicine that helps people with asthma.
Nearly 25 million people struggle with asthma, a condition that makes breathing difficult. Coughing and wheezing are just some symptoms they experience.
“Think of Asthma as a disease where the airways are inflamed and they tend to spasm and constrict so their diameter is demolished,” said Dr. Daniel Evans, Chief of Pulmonary Medicine with Dayton Children’s Hospital. “So the air flowing through those breathing tubes is compromised, and it makes it difficult for them to breathe.”
While many people use inhalers to treat asthma, they don’t work for everyone. Some need to use a liquid medication known as Albuterol.
“The Albuterol gets delivered and causes those breathing tubes to actually open up so that the air can flow better,” said Evans.
Evans said getting your hands on Albuterol these days can be tough. That’s because one major manufacturer stopped producing the medicine in three of its factories last month.
“Just trying to keep up with the requirements has always been supply chain issues with a lot of pharmaceuticals lately, so that’s what I think caused a lot of limitations currently,” he said.
Evans and his team have been doing all they can to meet the needs of their patients. But their supply is getting smaller.
“We have about two months of supply on hand for inpatients, but our outpatients supplies were dwindling,” he said.
Although there’s a shortage of the drug, Evans said there are alternatives, but it’s important to consult your doctor first about them.
“We’re encouraging people to consider that, if they’re not on an inhaler with the spacer and only using a nebulizer, talk to your doctors about converting to an inhaler that they don’t have to worry about the supply chain issues,” he said.
Evans said he isn’t sure when the shortage will end, but he’s optimistic about the future.
“We’re probably going to be dealing with this shortage in almost crisis terms for a little while longer,” he said. “As we use those reserves up, it may get a little tighter over the next month before we see light at the end of the tunnel.”
