We understand clearly the concern raised by Lawson. Our aim is not to substitute the labelling of the drugs with colour coding, but to suggest uniformity for the existing colour selection of the inhaler’s casing.1 Often the patients are instructed to take the ‘blue inhaler’ in case of need and to use the ‘purple or red inhalers’ regularly, rather than identifying them by the drug names. Instead, they could now be asked to take the ‘blue dot inhaler’ in case of need and to use the ‘brown–yellow dot inhaler’ regularly.
Colour has always been used to aid recognition, this convention is not new in medicine. A standardised colour code for user-applied syringe labels for anaesthetic drugs exist in the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.2 A single standard system for syringe labelling in critical care areas has been adopted in the UK as well.3
There is always a problem in reading the labels as instructions are often written at a level too complex for low literacy patients.4,5,6 Inadequate literacy, without any doubt, is a barrier to asthma knowledge and proper self-care.6,7 Moreover, patients who have a different first language than the healthcare provider can raise additional issues.
So there will be a large group of patients who can identify their inhalers only by the colour. Older people who have difficulty identifying colours will have difficulty reading fine print as well and will need assistance. People who are colour blind should continue to read the labels or identify their inhalers by the design or size. We, therefore, believe that adding universal colour dots to the current system will only do good in creating uniformity without causing any additional limitations.
- © British Journal of General Practice, 2010.
