Symbicort vs Albuterol: Asthma and COPD Drugs Compared

If you have asthma or COPD, you have many options to manage symptoms. Two common medications, Symbicort and albuterol, may be recommended by your medical provider. You may wonder, "Can I take Symbicort and albuterol together?" and "What is the difference between albuterol and Symbicort?" For answers to questions of Symbicort vs albuterol, read on.

What is Symbicort?

Symbicort is an asthma medication available in inhaler form. It can also help control symptoms in COPD. You may wonder if Symbicort is albuterol. No, Symbicort and albuterol are not the same. Symbicort is a combination of two different medications. The first is budesonide, which is a corticosteroid. The second medication is formoterol, which is a long-acting beta-adrenergic agonist (LABA).

What is Albuterol?

What's the difference between Symbicort and albuterol? While Symbicort is a combination of a steroid and a LABA, albuterol is a short-acting beta agonist (SABA).

Why take Symbicort or Albuterol for treating asthma symptoms?

Can you take Symbicort and albuterol together? Yes, because both medications are prescribed for treating asthma or COPD symptoms. Albuterol is commonly known to be a useful rescue inhaler, to help when you have increased asthma or COPD symptoms. Symbicort is a useful daily maintenance medication, to keep asthma or COPD symptoms well controlled and reduce your need for rescue albuterol.

What is the difference between Symbicort and Albuterol?

What's the difference between albuterol and Symbicort? While both are indicated to help manage symptoms of asthma or COPD, there are differences between a Symbicort inhaler vs albuterol inhaler.

	Symbicort	Albuterol
Time to onset	The formoterol component takes effect within 5 minutes	Albuterol takes effect within 5 minutes
Duration of effect	Symbicort lasts longer than albuterol (12 hours)	Albuterol’s effects wear off after 2 to 5 hours
Function	Symbicort controls symptoms and reduces flares	Albuterol is for quick relief of symptoms

Is Symbicort the same as Albuterol?

Is albuterol and Symbicort the same thing? No. While both are available in inhaler form and both are used for the treatment of asthma or COPD symptoms, albuterol is not the same as Symbicort.

Is Albuterol as good as Symbicort?

When considering Symbicort versus albuterol, it's essential to define your point of comparison. Albuterol takes effect more quickly than Symbicort and can help reduce urgent asthma symptoms more quickly. However, albuterol is not as effective as Symbicort in preventing and controlling asthma.

What side effects are common between Symbicort and Albuterol?

Both medications can have similar side effects of anxiety, shortness of breath, and headaches.

What side effects are not common between albuterol and Symbicort?

Some side effects are unique to albuterol, such as tremors and increased heart rate. Others, such as thrush, are unique to Symbicort.

How successful is Symbicort in treating asthma?

Symbicort can be very successful in treating asthma as a daily preventive treatment.

How successful is Albuterol in treating asthma?

Albuterol can be very successful in treating acute asthma flares when used as a rescue medication, on an as-needed basis.

Is Symbicort better than Albuterol for asthma treatment?

When considering an albuterol inhaler vs Symbicort, the key question is what therapy is needed? For acute asthma flares, reach for albuterol. For daily prevention and management, Symbicort is preferred.

Albuterol vs Symbicort: Related FAQs

 

Does Symbicort have albuterol in it?

No. Symbicort is a combination of budesonide, a corticosteroid, and formoterol, a long-acting beta agonist (LABA). Albuterol is not in Symbicort.

Can you take albuterol and Symbicort together?

Can you use Symbicort and albuterol together? Yes, it is common to be prescribed Symbicort with albuterol—Symbicort for daily maintenance, and albuterol for quick relief of urgent symptoms.

How long to wait between Symbicort and albuterol?

You do not have to wait a specific amount of time between Symbicort and albuterol doses. However, if you anticipate taking both around the same time, experts recommend using the rescue inhaler first, waiting 5 minutes, and then using the Symbicort inhaler.

Should you take Symbicort or albuterol first?

Generally, you should use the albuterol first if taking these medications at the same time. Albuterol can help quickly open up your airways, which can make it easier for the Symbicort to be dispensed throughout your respiratory tract.

Symbicort inhaler vs albuterol: Which works faster?

Both medications have a similar time to onset of action; the albuterol and formoterol components work within 5 minutes to open up your airway. However, albuterol is generally thought to be faster acting because it reaches its peak concentration faster than Symbicort.

Can Symbicort be used as a rescue inhaler?

No, Symbicort should not be used as a rescue inhaler unless you have specific instructions from your medical provider to use it in such a way. Albuterol is more commonly used as a rescue inhaler.

Is Symbicort a strong asthma medication?

Yes, Symbicort is a combination medication that has a steroid and a long-acting beta-adrenergic agonist. Therefore, Symbicort is both a potent anti-inflammatory medication and a powerful bronchodilator.

Does Symbicort strengthen your lungs?

Symbicort can help improve your lung function by reducing inflammation of the respiratory tract and improving your ability to breathe.

Who should not use a Symbicort inhaler?

Contraindications to Symbicort use include having a hypersensitive reaction to this medication or having an immunosuppression-related illness such as tuberculosis. Experts note that it should not be used as a treatment for severe acute asthma symptoms.

Is it bad to use Symbicort every day?

No—in fact, Symbicort is intended to be used every day to help maintain reasonable control of asthma symptoms. Daily albuterol use, on the other hand, should be avoided.

References

https://www.mySymbicort.com/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563201/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482272/

https://reference.medscape.com/drug/proventil-hfa-ventolin-hfa-albuterol-343426

https://reference.medscape.com/drug/symbicort-breyna-formoterol-budesonide-inhaled-343429