QVAR® and Treating Children with Asthma
Asthma affects more than 6 million children in the United States.1 QVAR® is an asthma control medication known as an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). It's the only small-particle ICS approved for children as young as 5 years old.2 QVAR® can be used with or without a spacer,2 which may make it a good choice for children who previously used a nebulizer.
If your child has been prescribed QVAR®, be sure to carefully follow the instructions provided by your healthcare provider. Most commonly, children are prescribed one or two puffs of QVAR® 40 mcg, twice every day.2 To help you make sure your child is using the QVAR® inhaler properly, download this instruction sheet on how to use the QVAR® inhaler.
Ask your healthcare provider to help you fill out an asthma action plan, which provides instructions on managing pediatric asthma. It includes information about your child's asthma medications, including when and how much of each medication your child should take. A copy of this plan should be provided to your child's caretakers, including babysitters, coaches, teachers, and school nurses.
Your child should take his or her long-term asthma control medicine every day, even if he or she is not having symptoms. Forgetting to take asthma control medicine as prescribed—or stopping because your child doesn't have symptoms—may increase your child's risk of asthma attacks.
In some children, slower growth may occur as a result of inadequate control of chronic diseases such as asthma, or from use of corticosteroids for treatment.2 In general, the risk of slower growth is less with inhaled corticosteroids like QVAR® than with corticosteroids taken orally.1 Your child's physician should monitor your child's growth and carefully weigh the benefits and risks of this and other asthma medications.1,2 Your child should use the lowest dose of asthma medication needed to maintain good asthma control as prescribed by your child's doctor.1
QVAR
® (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA) Inhalation Aerosol is used in the ongoing treatment of asthma as preventative therapy in patients 5 years of age or older.
QVAR
® is also used for asthma patients who require systemic corticosteroid administration, where adding QVAR
® may reduce or eliminate the need for systemic corticosteroids.
QVAR
® does not replace quick-relief inhalers for sudden symptoms.
CAUTION: If you are stopping or switching from an oral corticosteroid to QVAR®, follow your doctor's instructions to avoid health risks. (See WARNINGS, Prescribing Information).
Inhaled corticosteroids may cause a reduction in growth rate, so children taking QVAR
® should have their growth checked regularly. The long-term effect on final adult growth is unknown.
Do not stop taking QVAR
® abruptly without talking to your doctor.
In clinical studies, common side effects included headache and sore throat. These are not all of the possible side effects of QVAR
®. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit
www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call
1-800-FDA-1088.