Salbutamol,albuterol

#Salbutamol #albuterol  #Ventolin

Salbutamol, also known as albuterol and marketed as Ventolin among other names, is a medication that opens up the medium and large airways in the lungs. It is used to treat asthma, exercise-induced bronchospasm, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).It may also be used to treat high blood potassium levels. It is usually used by inhaler or nebulizer but is also available as a pill and intravenous solution. Onset of action of the inhaled version is typically within 15 minutes and lasts for two to six hours.
Common side effects include shakiness, headache, fast heart rate, dizziness, and feeling anxious. Serious side effects may include worsening bronchospasm, irregular heartbeat, and low blood potassium levels. It can be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but safety is not entirely clear. Salbutamol is a short-acting β₂ adrenergic receptor agonist which works by causing airway smooth muscles to relax.
Salbutamol was first made in 1967 in Britain. It was approved for medical use in the United States in 1982. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most important medication needed in a basic health system. It is available as a generic medication.The wholesale cost of an inhaler which contains 200 doses is between $1.12 and $2.64 (USD) as of 2014.In the United States it is between $25 and $50 for a typical month supply.

Salbutamol is typically used to treat bronchospasm (due to any cause, allergen asthma or exercise-induced), as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
As a β₂ agonist, salbutamol also finds use in obstetrics. Intravenous salbutamol can be used as a tocolytic to relax the uterine smooth muscle to delay premature labor. While preferred over agents such as atosiban and ritodrine, its role has largely been replaced by the calcium channel blocker nifedipine, which is more effective, better tolerated and orally administered.
Salbutamol has been used to treat acute hyperkalemia, as it stimulates potassium flow into cells thus lowering the level in the blood.