Aerosol therapy is the basis for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Effective treatment of asthma, infections and inflammations of the upper and lower respiratory tract, and chronic lung diseases is not possible without effective inhalation therapy. Nebulisation is the oldest way of administering medications by inhalation. The clinical effect depends on several elements, without which effective nebulisation cannot be performed. Meeting certain conditions (proper selection of the inhaler, technique of the procedure, dosage) determines the success of the therapy. The article presents the decalogue of nebulisation in a concise manner – a set of basic principles that should be followed by doctors, so that this way of treating respiratory diseases is effective.

Decalogue of nebulisation:

1. Nebulisation is a highly effective method of local treatment of the respiratory tract.
2. Effective nebulisation is determined by four elements: proper selection of the inhaler together with the technique of performance, patient respiratory cycle, degree of drug deposition in the lungs, and dosage.
3. Respiratory cycle is an important element of effective nebulisation, which must be taken into account when dosing, especially in children.
4. The selection of nebuliser and technique of performing the procedure are the key conditions of effectiveness.
5. Attention should be paid to the parameters which are important when selecting a proper nebuliser.
6. The deposition in the lungs is determined by the size of the particle and the force of inspiration.
7. The nominal dose is not the deposited dose.
8. Nebulisation time should be short (up to 10 minutes in adults and up to 3 minutes in children).
9. Use the lowest effective (!) dose of the medication.
10. Calculators and applications are helpful in calculating the dose and time of nebulisation.