Patient was educated on how to count puffs for Symbicort inhalers with no built-in counter as follows:

  1. For Symbicort inhalers that do not have a built-in counter, a manual watch is mandatory, to keep track of the number of doses of medication used.
  2. Every canister will have the number of doses or puffs it carries, printed on the side of the canister.
  3. Mark the date in your diary, on which the canister was first used.
  4. If you use the Symbicort inhaler regularly every day for a defined number of puffs, it is easy to calculate the duration for which the canister will last. Dividing the total number of puffs the canister carries with the number of puffs you inhale per day, will give you the duration in days for which the canister will last.
  5. For Symbicort inhalers that are used only as needed, a manual count on the number of doses used and updating the count in your diary on every use, will help order for a timely refill and changing the canister, as it draws closer to being empty.
  6. An important caution to remember is to not ignore the puffs used to prime the canister. Always add the priming puffs to your count.