Primatene Mist Delusion
I lived in the United States for most of my life. I was born with severe asthma. My mother got me primatene mist as she didn’t really understand my disease and I was always in the hospital. That was 50 years ago. I continued for many years using it. In my teens I had a severe attack and rushed to hospital. After telling doctors I was using primatene mist they told me it almost killed me as I took way too much when I panicked during the attack and the epinephrine blocked a lot of emergency meds they were trying to give me.
America’s healthcare is broken! This is a dangerous drug attempting to help a dangerous disease no matter how mild. Asthma needs a doctor and proper medicine in order to have a good outcome.
Thank god Canada does not approve primaetene mist but I suppose no matter your income everyone has healthcare and cheaper prescriptions unlike the US which is becoming healthcare only for the rich!
Hello
- I want to be one of the first to welcome you to our community. Thanks for sharing this experience with us, which sounds utterly frightening. It must have been very scary to hear those words from an ER physician. I am in agreement that asthma is a very serious condition that should always be treated by a physician. Your narrative had me reminisce about an instance maybe 40 years back when I was young. My parents thought they knew better and gave me some OTC treatment - not as detrimental as Primatene Mist such as in your circumstance - but it resulted in a scary outcome for my health. Not taking me in to see a physician could have had serious repercussions. After a few months, they finally gave up and took me to be treated appropriately. I stand with you and truly believe the healthcare system here needs an overhaul and fixing. Thanks for interacting here and offering up your thoughts on the topic of healthcare. Hoping to hear from you again along this journey - With regards, Rebecca (community moderator) 
We hear you. Primatene mist has its share of issues and you are not alone in expressing those concerns. In fact, some of our patient leaders have written about it in the past! You might appreciate this article from , who's also in Canada: https://asthma.net/living/over-the-counter-treatment
Grateful you feel comfortable sharing with us here. That's what the site is all about -- glad to have you. Take care! -Melissa, asthma team
