Patient was educated on side effects of using Symbicort as follows:
- Secondary bacterial and viral infections
- Due to the immunosuppression caused by the steroid in Symbicort, individuals using Symbicort are more prone to secondary bacterial and viral infections of respiratory tract.
- Patients can present with signs and symptoms of infection, such as, fever, throat irritation, productive cough, and stomach upset.
- Hypokalemia
- Chronic use of Symbicort can result in hypokalemia giving rise to symptoms such as, irregular heartbeat, palpitations, dizziness, tingling, and muscle cramps.
- Constitutional symptoms, such as, nervousness, trouble sleeping, and irritability can occur secondary to chronic steroid use.
- Patients can also present with constitutional symptoms, such as, headache, dizziness, cough, throat irritation, nasal congestion, and muscle pain secondary to the long-acting bronchodilator in Symbicort.
