SYMBICORT for Asthma
For patients 12 years and older whose asthma is not well controlled on a long-term asthma medicine or whose
disease severity warrants
Important Information
About SYMBICORT

Asthma and Your Lungs

Coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and other symptoms may mean your asthma is not under control.

When you have asthma, there is always inflammation in your airways. Left uncontrolled, this inflammation can make your lungs more sensitive to common triggers like dust, pollen, and smoke. When your lungs react to these triggers, muscles around the airways can tighten, which can cause your asthma symptoms to come back.

Your asthma may not be under control if:

  • you are taking a medicine that helps control asthma and are still coughing, wheezing, or experiencing other asthma symptoms
  • you need a rescue inhaler more than twice a week

The two medicines in SYMBICORT help to ease constriction and reduce inflammation in the airways. With SYMBICORT, asthma symptoms are less likely to come back because SYMBICORT keeps working for up to 12 hours. Of course, SYMBICORT will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms.

SYMBICORT has been shown to:

  • help to control asthma by opening airways
  • help reduce asthma symptoms
  • significantly improve lung function starting within just 15 minutes.* SYMBICORT will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms.

Fortunately, you have choices in medicines that help control asthma. If your symptoms keep coming back, don't wait to get your asthma under control. Ask your doctor if SYMBICORT may be the right choice for you.*

Once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop taking SYMBICORT without loss of control and may prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine, such as an inhaled corticosteroid.

*Your results may vary.

If your doctor thinks SYMBICORT is right for you, you may be able to start SYMBICORT with a free prescription offer.†
Request your free prescription offer† today.

†Subject to eligibility rules; restrictions apply.

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Watch What Asthma Does to Your Lungs

If you are treating only asthma symptoms, you're not treating the whole problem in your lungs. You see...

Even when you don't have symptoms, you still have asthma. It may not feel like anything is wrong, but you still have inflammation or swelling in your airways.

Uncontrolled inflammation can damage the lining of your airways. It is unknown if any asthma medicine, including SYMBICORT, can prevent long-term damage to the lungs.

Uncontrolled inflammation makes your lungs more sensitive to triggers, like pollen, dust, and smoke.

When your lungs react to these triggers, the muscles around the airways constrict or tighten,

...causing asthma symptoms and attacks. If inflammation is not controlled, you can have asthma symptoms and attacks more often.

More frequent attacks cause you to need your rescue medicine more often. But using a rescue inhaler can only provide temporary relief of sudden symptoms and does not reduce inflammation. If your asthma medicine doesn't reduce inflammation, your airways will continue to be more sensitive to triggers. That means you will be bothered by asthma symptoms and need your rescue inhaler more often. Needing your rescue inhaler more than twice a week may mean you need a controller medicine.

Now that you have begun to think differently about asthma, you understand the problem of trying to control asthma by only treating symptoms. Let's take a look at how SYMBICORT can help you get control of your asthma.

SYMBICORT is a controller medicine that works to help control your asthma, so you can do something good for health of your lungs. SYMBICORT is for people 12 years and older. SYMBICORT contains formoterol, a long-acting beta2-agonist or LABA. Medicines containing LABAs may increase the chance of asthma-related death. So, SYMBICORT should be used only if your health care professional decides another asthma-controller medicine alone or you need two asthma-controller medicines.

SYMBICORT works in two ways, to help control your asthma throughout the night and day.

SYMBICORT helps control inflammation and also helps keep your airways open. Remember, you can't always feel the inflammation in your airways. But this inflammation makes your lungs more sensitive to triggers, like pollen, dust, and smoke.

SYMBICORT also eases constriction or tightening of the airways of your lungs. This helps to keep your airways open.

SYMBICORT improves airflow in and out of the lungs within 15 minutes and continues to help control your asthma throughout the night and day. As a controller medicine, SYMBICORT is not - and will not - replace your rescue inhaler for sudden asthma symptoms. If you are taking SYMBICORT, see your health care provider if you asthma does not improve or gets worse.

Control your asthma with SYMBICORT and do something good for the health of your lungs. When your asthma is managed and under control, you can feel good about doing more of the things you like to do.

Next: Asthma Treatments and Corticosteroids

Important Safety Information About SYMBICORT for Asthma

SYMBICORT contains formoterol, a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist (LABA). LABA medicines such as formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. It is not known whether budesonide, the other medicine in SYMBICORT, reduces the risk of death from asthma problems seen with formoterol.

SYMBICORT should be used only if your health care provider decides that your asthma is not well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine, such as an inhaled corticosteroid, or that your asthma is severe enough to begin treatment with SYMBICORT.

If you are taking SYMBICORT, see your health care provider if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. It is important that your health care provider assess your asthma control on a regular basis. Your doctor will decide if it is possible for you to stop taking SYMBICORT and start taking a long-term asthma control medicine without loss of asthma control.

Children and adolescents who take LABA medicines may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems.

SYMBICORT does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden asthma symptoms.

Be sure to tell your health care provider about all your health conditions, including heart conditions or high blood pressure, and all medicines you may be taking. Some patients taking SYMBICORT may experience increased blood pressure, heart rate, or change in heart rhythm.

Do not use SYMBICORT more often than prescribed. While taking SYMBICORT, never use another medicine containing a LABA for any reason. Ask your health care provider or pharmacist if any of your other medicines are LABA medicines, as using too much LABA may cause chest pain, increase in blood pressure, fast and irregular heartbeat, headache, tremor, and nervousness.

Patients taking SYMBICORT should call their health care provider or get emergency medical care:

  • if you experience serious allergic reactions including rash, hives, swelling of the face, mouth and tongue, and breathing problems.
  • if you think you are exposed to infections such as chicken pox or measles, or if you have any signs of infection. You may have a higher chance of infection.
  • if you experience an increase in wheezing right after taking SYMBICORT, eye problems including glaucoma and cataracts, decreases in bone mineral density, swelling of blood vessels (signs include a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of arms or legs, flu like symptoms, rash, pain and swelling of the sinuses), decrease in blood potassium and increase in blood sugar levels.

If you are switching to SYMBICORT from an oral corticosteroid, follow your health care provider’s instructions to avoid serious health risks when you stop using oral corticosteroids.

Common side effects include nose and throat irritation, headache, upper respiratory tract infection, sore throat, sinusitis, stomach discomfort, flu, back pain, nasal congestion, vomiting, and thrush in the mouth and throat.

Approved Uses for SYMBICORT for Asthma

SYMBICORT is a medicine for the treatment of asthma for people 12 years and older whose doctor has determined that their asthma is not well controlled with a long term asthma control medicine such as an inhaled corticosteroid or whose asthma is severe enough to begin treatment with SYMBICORT. SYMBICORT is not a treatment for sudden asthma symptoms.

Talk to your doctor about prescription SYMBICORT.

Please read Prescribing Information, including Boxed WARNING, with Medication Guide and discuss with your doctor.Adobe PDF (PDF — 551 KB)

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

The information on this Web site should not take the place of talking with your doctor or health care provider about how to manage and treat your asthma. If you have any questions about your condition, or if you would like more information about SYMBICORT or asthma, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Only you and your doctor can decide if SYMBICORT is right for you.

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SYMBICORT is a registered trademark of the AstraZeneca group of companies.