Quote from stprdi:

Can someone explain this to me.....is Ventolin by itself the same as the ingredient in Combivent? Why would you give one but not the other. Also why could someone take a ventolin puffer but not neb.

I'm a little confused, but I'll try to answer anyway.

I'm assuming you have a Combivent inhaler and that you've just been prescribed a nebulizer with Ventolin. Am I right? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Combivent is albuterol and atrovent in one. Ventolin is just albuterol. So basically, Ventolin is the same thing as Combivent, but without the atrovent.

Albuterol is a beta-2 agonist, which works to relax the muscles around the airways and open them up, thus making it easier to breathe. Atrovent is an anticholinergic mainly used for COPD w/ bronchospasm. An anticholinergic has an effect on mucus production, it can help some asthmatics who have a problem with mucus.

There is such thing as an albuterol/atrovent combination for the nebulizer - it's called Duoneb. It's a lot easier than mixing atrovent and albuterol nebs together.

One may be able to use a Ventolin puffer, but not a nebulizer, because of the amount of medication given. I believe six puffs of Ventolin equals one nebulizer treatment. With the nebulizer, I suppose the side effects could be increased (ie: shakiness, rapid heartbeat, etc.)