emtannie Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 Hello Everyone, I did search the forums, and I didn't get any hits, so my apologies if this has been covered before. I am looking for MDI and nitro spray placebo containers for use in classroom instruction. I have epipen trainers, and I have old, expired MDI's and nitro spray bottles (empty, of course!) but I wish I had placebo ones. It would be nice to use placebos rather than expired bottles and inhalers when I teach. I have seen them in courses I have taken, and I have contacted several pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies, with no luck. Any assistance is appreciated.
VentMedic Posted February 17, 2008 Posted February 17, 2008 Did you contact a GlaxoSmithKline representative for the MDI placebo? Any Asthma educators in your area or RT departments?
emtannie Posted February 18, 2008 Author Posted February 18, 2008 I did send emails to a GlaxoSmithKline representative for the MDI placebo and have not heard a reply. I have also sent emails to several distributors. I am waiting for an RT I know to get back to me.... I was just hoping for some other leads....
brentoli Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 This is kinda cool. [web:3bd8bc0203]http://www.inhalertrainer.co.uk/[/web:3bd8bc0203] Unrelated, while googling, I came across enema simulators. I had no idea...
akroeze Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 Talking to a local pharmacist may be a good bet.
emtannie Posted February 18, 2008 Author Posted February 18, 2008 I did that before my original post... I have been to several pharmacies in my area, and they referred me to the pharmaceutical companies, who have been unresponsive to date. I also contacted several on line pharmacies, who have responded with the same "go directly to the pharmaceutical company." I have contacted Glaxo and AstroZeneca, with no reply.
VentMedic Posted February 18, 2008 Posted February 18, 2008 Did you do an email to the big corporate companies offices or to the individual pharmaceutical reps of those companies in your area? A pulmonologist or most GPs, hospital pharmacy or RT department should be able to provide the name of the manufacturer's rep. Each should have reps in your area that can provide assistance with the placebo to demonstrate their product. We teach with 8 different placebo inhalers but our reps drop them off at the hospital. There are several different inhalers manufactured by different companies with different formulations with different instructions for each on the market now. Example: Salbutamol or Albuterol is available by at least 15 different names with and without HFA and CFC propellants, each with different delivery characteristics and patient perceptions. I don't believe Canada has been required to make the HFA switch yet. The asthma educators in your area may also have information where to get placebo inhalers. This can be through the Association of Asthma Educators (AAE), Canadian Network For Asthma Care(CNAC), Asthma Society of Canada or Allergy/Asthma Information Association(AAIA).
Arizonaffcep Posted August 30, 2008 Posted August 30, 2008 Not sure how you can do the placebo (without an actual one) for MDI's, but for the NTG spray, you could just use water and food coloring to make it an accurate color. This is what I do for medic class when the students are using drugs. Seeing as most look and have the consistency of water, it makes it fairly easy...with a lot less liability!
VentMedic Posted August 30, 2008 Posted August 30, 2008 Not sure how you can do the placebo (without an actual one) for MDI's, but for the NTG spray, you could just use water and food coloring to make it an accurate color. This is what I do for medic class when the students are using drugs. Seeing as most look and have the consistency of water, it makes it fairly easy...with a lot less liability! The drug reps for the MDIs will be more than happy to direct you on getting MDI placebos. Keep in mind that with the new HFA propellants, the MDIs have changed in delivery as have the directions for use. There are also about 15 new inhalers on the market in the US. I'm also having a difficult time keeping track of all of the European and Canadian inhalers that are now available, some of which appear in the US by either tourists or other means. You can also get in touch with the Association for Asthma Educators which I mentioned in a post earlier this year for the updates and training devices.
AnthonyM83 Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Hmmm, we're also looking for NTG training sprays...no luck so far apparently.
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