A Yearly (?) Occurrence: Replacing Your Spacer

I know, I know, I know.

That’s my thought on the maintenance of spacers or valved holding chambers.
Also, technically speaking they’re not the same thing and I know that too, so let’s get that out of the way first. I did a video on this recently so if you're confused about these two devices that look basically exactly the same, check that out to find out why they're different. And, paradoxically to this, I'll continue to refer to my valved holding chamber as a spacer for the bulk of this article. And, for the bulk of this article, they do function interchangeably, as care of a spacer vs. valved holding chamber is essentially the same, as far as I know.

Revisiting asthma chores

With that out of the way…. No matter what device you use, they’re maintained in roughly the same way. And it’s NOT HARD, okay? I get that. Except that doesn’t mean I do it. I’ve written before about washing your spacer and how darn easy it is. Apparently some are even dishwasher safe, I’ll have to read my new AeroChamber when I break it out of the packaging to see if this solution may help me improve my cleaning game (which has not improved since the time of writing that article, by the way).

Another chore that shouldn’t be one is the simple act of replacing your spacer. Except, if you either need a prescription or want a prescription to have insurance to cover the cost of the device, then it's not as simple as it probably should be.

Get a fresh new spacer annually

This shouldn’t be so hard to remember. After all, the Pharmacare program I’m on even pays for a new spacer every year once I’ve hit my deductible. So, why did my last new spacer come from my friend Steve in California over a year before I got a new one? This is a mystery of life I cannot provide an answer to.

I got a new AeroChamber prescription from Dr. Smartypants when I saw her in early November. It was easy (last time I asked she even checked the sample closet for some), it was just that I had to remember which is half the battle. She sent the prescription straight to my pharmacy and they called me a couple hours later to pick it up along with something else I can’t recall. Except, at that point when I requested and picked up the new spacer, I had a cold, so I’ve been waiting to be un-sick before breaking out the new one, because how silly would it be to germ it up with a virus right away?

I know, I know, I know

So I know I should clean my spacer more and I know that I should use my spacer as well, and it’s well used for my daily medications—and that’s probably the most important one. So at least I’ve got one down!

How often do you replace your spacer?