Ventolin Inhalers for Babies

If your baby has been diagnosed with a breathing problem from a young age you will need to monitor him or her for symptoms of breathing difficulty, using its prescribed medication and Ventolin inhaler correctly. Treatment using the Ventolin inhaler may also be slightly different as described in the article below.

Using the Ventolin inhaler for a baby

If a baby develops difficulty breathing your doctor may decide to prescribe a Ventolin inhaler to improve its ability to breath easily. As a baby can not be instructed in how to use a standard Ventolin inhaler the main difference is in how it is administered. They will often be paired with a spacer and face mask. This allows the baby or toddler to continue breathing as they otherwise would and receive a dose of the medication.


The spacer will fit over the mouthpiece of the Ventolin inhaler. This device will help to vaporise the Ventolin meaning that it better enables the baby to breath it in. Usually for babies the spacer can be attached to a face mask. This mask is held over the babies mouth and nose. During this period it is able to continue to breath normally. A dose of medication can then be sprayed and breathed in by the baby. Nebulisers are also used in place of an inhaler although the type medication may still be the same they will use a special liquidised form of the drug.

As the baby is of a smaller size than adults it will not necessarily require a full sized dose. This will be set by your doctor making it important that you only use the baby's own inhaler when administering a dose. Your doctor should also give you instructions on how to use the inhaler or nebuliser for your baby.

Side effects of the Ventolin inhaler for babies

If you are careful to only administer the amount set by your doctor the potential side effects that a baby can experience from using a Ventolin inhaler are similar to that of adults. The main problem that occurs is that a baby can't tell you when it is experiencing symptoms so it is important that you monitor your baby for signs of distress. These include a racing heart, reduced food intake, vomiting and any allergic responses to administration of the drug. An allergic reaction would require the immediate assistance of the emergency services.

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