Maxair: What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?
You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking
Maxair® (
pirbuterol acetate) if you have:
Also let your healthcare provider know if you are:
- Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant
- Breastfeeding.
You should also make sure to tell your healthcare provider about all other medicines you may be taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Some Maxair Warnings and Precautions
Following are some warnings and precautions to be aware of with Maxair:
- Tell your healthcare provider immediately if you are using Maxair more frequently than usual. Asthma symptoms can worsen very quickly and become a medical emergency.
- Using Maxair alone is rarely the best asthma treatment. Your healthcare provider should consider adding additional asthma medications.
- Rarely, Maxair can cause a worsening of bronchospasms (spasms of the airways), which is exactly the opposite of what should happen. Tell your healthcare provider immediately if Maxair makes your asthma worse.
- Maxair can have a stimulatory effect on the heart and blood pressure. A fast heart rate (tachycardia), high blood pressure (hypertension), and irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) may occur -- though low blood pressure (hypotension) is also possible. If you have heart disease or high blood pressure, make sure your healthcare provider is aware of it. He or she may wish to use particular caution if he or she recommends Maxair in your case.
- People with an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), diabetes, or epilepsy should use caution when using Maxair, as the medication may worsen these conditions or increase the risk of side effects.
- Maxair can interact with certain other medications (see Maxair Drug Interactions).
- Maxair is considered a pregnancy Category C medication. This means that it may not be safe to use during pregnancy. Talk with your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of using Maxair during pregnancy (see Maxair and Pregnancy for more information).
- It is not known if Maxair passes through breast milk. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding or plan to start breastfeeding, be sure to talk with your healthcare provider about using Maxair (see Maxair and Breastfeeding for more information).
