Symbicort Inhaler: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Benefits
Updated: Sep 16
Written by Dr. Adam Makis in TheSkyMeds Editorial Standards
Medically reviewed by Jonathan Reed, Medical Content Reviewer May 19 2026
The Symbicort inhaler is a prescription combination medicine containing budesonide and formoterol, two medicines that work in different ways to help control breathing problems. Budesonide is an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) that reduces inflammation inside the airways, while formoterol is a long-acting bronchodilator that relaxes airway muscles and helps keep the airways open. Depending on the specific product, strength, age group, diagnosis, and local approval, Symbicort may be prescribed for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or as part of a maintenance-and-reliever approach for asthma. Its dosage is not the same for everyone, and different Symbicort strengths are not necessarily interchangeable. This guide explains the main uses, benefits, dosing principles, common side effects, and safety precautions in practical terms. Most importantly, use Symbicort according to your prescription and the instructions supplied with your specific inhaler.
What Is the Symbicort Inhaler and How Does It Work?
Symbicort combines budesonide and formoterol in one inhaler. The two ingredients address different parts of obstructive airway disease, which is why the combination can be useful for appropriately selected patients.
Budesonide is an inhaled corticosteroid. It helps reduce and prevent inflammation and swelling inside the airways.
Formoterol is a long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA), also called a bronchodilator. It relaxes the muscles surrounding the airways, helping air move more easily through the lungs.
Together, these medicines can therefore address both airway inflammation and airway narrowing.
Symbicort Turbohaler product information describes the medicine's approved indications, strengths, dosing approaches, precautions, and adverse effects.
What strengths of Symbicort are available?
Symbicort comes in different strengths and inhaler formats, and availability varies between countries. For example, Symbicort Turbohaler formulations include different budesonide/formoterol strengths.
This distinction matters because the numbers printed on different products can also be expressed as metered versus delivered doses. Do not switch strengths or calculate an equivalent dose yourself.
What Is the Symbicort Inhaler Used For?
The Symbicort inhaler is principally used in the management of asthma and, with certain products, COPD.
The exact approved use depends on the formulation, strength, age, and country-specific product licence.
Symbicort for asthma
For asthma, Symbicort can provide anti-inflammatory treatment through budesonide while formoterol helps open narrowed airways.
Depending on the product and treatment plan, it may be prescribed in different ways. For example, some people use Symbicort regularly as maintenance treatment and have a separate reliever inhaler. Certain budesonide-formoterol products and strengths can instead be prescribed in a regimen where the same inhaler is used for both maintenance treatment and symptom relief.
Current GINA asthma treatment guidance supports ICS-containing treatment for asthma and includes ICS-formoterol-based treatment approaches for appropriate patients.
This does not mean every Symbicort inhaler should automatically be used as a reliever. Follow the treatment plan given for your particular product.
Symbicort for COPD
Certain Symbicort products are also indicated for symptomatic treatment of COPD in selected adults. COPD is a long-term lung disease that causes persistent airflow limitation and symptoms such as breathlessness and cough.
Whether an inhaled corticosteroid/LABA combination such as budesonide-formoterol is appropriate depends on the person's COPD history, symptoms, exacerbation risk, previous treatment, and other clinical factors.
Ingredient | Type of medicine | Main action | Potential treatment benefit |
Budesonide | Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) | Reduces airway inflammation | Helps control the inflammatory component of airway disease |
Formoterol | Long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA) | Relaxes airway muscles | Helps open the airways and improve breathing |
Budesonide + formoterol | Combination treatment | Addresses inflammation and airway narrowing | Allows two complementary medicines to be delivered from one inhaler |
Symbicort does more than temporarily open the airways. Its budesonide component treats airway inflammation, while formoterol provides bronchodilation. The way the inhaler should be used—including whether it is maintenance treatment, a reliever, or both—depends on the prescribed regimen and specific product.
What Are the Main Benefits of Symbicort?
For an appropriately diagnosed and treated patient, the principal benefit of Symbicort is that it combines two complementary asthma or COPD medicines in one inhaler.
It treats airway inflammation
Inflammation is an important underlying feature of asthma. Budesonide reduces this inflammation rather than simply providing temporary relief from airway narrowing.
GINA's 2026 guidance emphasizes the importance of inhaled corticosteroid-containing treatment for asthma because treating airway inflammation reduces the risk of exacerbations.
It helps keep the airways open
Formoterol relaxes smooth muscle surrounding the airways. This bronchodilator action makes breathing easier when the medicine is being used for an appropriate indication.
Some patients can use one inhaler for maintenance and relief
An important feature of formoterol is its rapid onset of bronchodilator action. This allows low-dose ICS-formoterol to be used within particular anti-inflammatory reliever and maintenance-and-reliever treatment strategies.
GINA reports that, in adults and adolescents, low-dose ICS-formoterol maintenance-and-reliever therapy (MART) reduces severe exacerbations compared with several traditional treatment approaches.
However, this benefit applies to specific ICS-formoterol regimens. It should not be interpreted as permission to use any Symbicort strength or formulation for extra symptom-relief doses without appropriate prescribing instructions.
What Is the Recommended Symbicort Dosage?
There is no single Symbicort dosage suitable for everyone. The prescribed dose depends on the condition being treated, the specific inhaler and strength, age, symptom control, and whether Symbicort is being used as maintenance treatment alone or within a maintenance-and-reliever regimen.
That distinction is particularly important because Symbicort is available in multiple strengths.
Product/regimen example | Population | Product information example | Important limitation |
Symbicort Turbohaler 200/6, maintenance-and-reliever therapy | Adults and adolescents 12+ | Maintenance: 2 inhalations/day, either 1 morning and evening or 2 at one time; some patients may require 2 inhalations twice daily. Additional inhalations may be prescribed for symptoms | Maximum-use instructions apply; follow the individual asthma action plan |
Symbicort Turbohaler 400/12, asthma maintenance treatment | Adults | 1 inhalation twice daily is a listed recommended dose | This higher-strength product has different instructions and is not automatically suitable for reliever use |
Symbicort Turbohaler 200/6, COPD | Adults | 2 inhalations twice daily | Applies to the referenced UK product information and indication |
Symbicort pressurised 200/6, COPD | Adults | 2 actuations twice daily | Device and approved indication matter |
These examples come from UK product information and should not be used to change an existing prescription. Product strengths, labelled doses, approved indications, age limits, and inhaler formats can differ by jurisdiction.
For asthma, the product information recommends adjusting treatment to the lowest dose that maintains effective control, with regular reassessment by the healthcare professional.
How should you use a Symbicort Turbohaler?
Correct technique is important because the medicine needs to reach the lungs.
For the Turbohaler device, the product information instructs patients to inhale forcefully and deeply through the mouthpiece and not to breathe out into the device. Patients should follow the instructions supplied with their particular inhaler.
After taking maintenance doses, rinse your mouth with water as directed and spit it out. This helps reduce the risk of oral thrush associated with the inhaled corticosteroid.
What Are the Side Effects of Symbicort?
Like all medicines, Symbicort can cause side effects, although not everyone experiences them. Some effects come mainly from budesonide, while others are associated with formoterol.
Common effects listed for Symbicort Turbohaler 200/6 include:
Headache
Tremor or shakiness
Palpitations
Oral or throat Candida infection, commonly called thrush
Mild throat irritation
Cough
Hoarseness or voice changes
For people with COPD, pneumonia is also listed as a common adverse reaction with this product.
The product information notes that tremor and palpitations associated with beta2-agonist treatment tend to be mild and often disappear within several days of treatment.
Can Symbicort cause oral thrush?
Yes. Because Symbicort contains an inhaled corticosteroid, some of the medicine can remain in the mouth and throat and contribute to Candida infection.
The Symbicort safety and side-effect information recommends rinsing the mouth with water after maintenance doses to help reduce this risk.
Are there serious side effects?
Serious reactions are less common but require attention. Rare hypersensitivity reactions can include angioedema and anaphylaxis, and abnormal heart rhythms have also been reported.
Very rarely, inhaled treatment can cause paradoxical bronchospasm—breathing suddenly becomes worse immediately after taking the medicine rather than improving. The product information advises immediate treatment and medical assessment if this occurs.
Prolonged exposure to high doses of inhaled corticosteroids can also produce systemic corticosteroid effects, although these are much less likely with inhaled corticosteroids than with oral corticosteroids.
What Should You Know Before Using Symbicort?
Symbicort should be used according to a prescribed treatment plan rather than adjusted simply according to how you feel on a particular day. If asthma symptoms are controlled, the product information recommends that any reduction in treatment should be considered gradually under regular clinical review.
Do not abruptly stop prescribed corticosteroid-containing treatment without medical guidance. This is particularly important for people who have been receiving substantial steroid treatment or are transitioning from oral corticosteroids.
Tell your prescriber or pharmacist about other medicines and supplements you use. Some medicines can interact with budesonide or formoterol; for example, strong CYP3A4 inhibitors can substantially increase exposure to budesonide.
If you are pregnant, planning pregnancy, or breastfeeding, discuss your treatment with your healthcare professional rather than stopping asthma medication yourself. The risks of medication need to be considered alongside the risks of inadequately controlled respiratory disease.
When Should You Seek Medical Help While Using Symbicort?
Seek medical advice if your asthma or COPD symptoms remain uncontrolled, become progressively worse, or you need more symptom-relief inhalations than your treatment plan allows. Sudden and progressive deterioration in asthma or COPD control can be life-threatening and requires urgent assessment.
Seek urgent medical attention for severe or rapidly worsening breathing difficulty, or signs of a serious allergic reaction such as substantial facial, tongue, or throat swelling.
If wheezing and breathlessness suddenly become worse immediately after using Symbicort, paradoxical bronchospasm is possible. The product information advises that Symbicort should be discontinued immediately in this situation, the breathing problem treated promptly, and the patient medically assessed.
For people prescribed Symbicort as maintenance-and-reliever therapy, follow the maximum-use instructions in the individual asthma action plan. Current GINA guidance advises adults and adolescents using budesonide-formoterol MART to seek medical care if they need more than a total of 12 inhalations in 24 hours.
Conclusion
The Symbicort inhaler combines budesonide to reduce airway inflammation with formoterol to relax airway muscles. Depending on the formulation, indication, age, and local approval, it may be prescribed for asthma or COPD, and certain budesonide-formoterol regimens can be used for both maintenance and symptom relief.
The correct dose and way of using Symbicort depend on the exact inhaler and your prescribed treatment plan, so do not change the strength, frequency, or reliever use yourself. Ask your healthcare professional to check your inhaler technique if you are unsure. Seek prompt medical attention if breathing worsens significantly despite treatment. This information is educational and does not replace your prescription or individualized medical advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Symbicort a steroid inhaler?
Yes, but it contains two medicines rather than a steroid alone. Budesonide is an inhaled corticosteroid that reduces airway inflammation, while formoterol is a long-acting bronchodilator that relaxes airway muscles. Together, they provide complementary actions for appropriately treated asthma or COPD.
2. Can Symbicort be used every day?
Yes, Symbicort is commonly prescribed as regular maintenance treatment, depending on the condition and treatment regimen. Some asthma regimens also permit additional doses for symptom relief. Follow your prescription because the appropriate frequency and maximum number of inhalations depend on the specific product and regimen.
3. Can Symbicort be used as a rescue inhaler?
Certain low-dose budesonide-formoterol regimens can be prescribed for symptom relief, including maintenance-and-reliever therapy. However, not every Symbicort product or strength should be used this way. Use Symbicort as a reliever only when your healthcare professional has specifically prescribed that treatment approach.
4. Should I rinse my mouth after using Symbicort?
Yes, product information recommends rinsing your mouth with water after maintenance doses of Symbicort Turbohaler. This helps reduce corticosteroid deposition in the mouth and the risk of oral thrush. Follow the instructions supplied with your particular inhaler and treatment regimen.
5. How quickly does Symbicort work?
Formoterol has a rapid bronchodilator action, but Symbicort also contains budesonide to provide ongoing anti-inflammatory treatment. How quickly you notice improvement depends on your condition and treatment regimen. Do not take extra doses beyond your prescribed plan simply because symptoms have not improved immediately.
6. Can I stop Symbicort when I feel better?
Do not stop prescribed Symbicort simply because your symptoms have improved. Good symptom control may indicate that treatment is working. Asthma treatment can sometimes be stepped down, but the product information recommends regular reassessment and gradual dose reduction when appropriate rather than abrupt discontinuation.
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