Types of asthma medication and the ruling on taking them during the day in Ramadaan

There are
many kinds of medication for asthma, some of which break the fast and some
do not. The most well known of these medicines and treatments are puffers,
oxygen, vaporizers and capsules. 

The puffer
uses a compressed gas that is used by the patient, which reaches the lungs
via the trachea to expand the lungs. It is not food or drink or anything
resembling them. The scholars of the Standing Committee have ruled that the
fast is not broken by using this kind of medicine. This is also the ruling
of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen and most of our scholars. 

See the
answer to question no. 37650
for more information on their fatwas.

 With regard
to oxygen, it too is neither food nor drink. Based on this, it may be used
when fasting with no problems. 

With regard
to vaporizers, these are usually devices which change the medicine – which
is usually carried in a sodium base – from liquid to gas and fine particles.
The medicine is placed in a small vessel and when the device is activated,
air is blown at high speed which causes the medicine to turn into a gaseous
form, so it can be inhaled by the patient either via a mask that is placed
over the mouth, or by means of a small tube that is placed inside the
mouth. 

It is
inevitable that some drops of water and salt will reach the stomach via this
device, and the patient will not be able to avoid that. Based on this, if he
uses this method, he should break his fast and he should make up that day
later on. 

Capsules
contain the medicine in the form of a fine powder. These capsules are placed
inside a special device which crushes the capsules in order to release the
medicine, which is inhaled from the device via the mouth. Using these
capsules invalidates the fast, because some of this powder mixes with the
saliva and goes down into the stomach. 

Shaykh
Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: 

Some people
have asthma and need to use puffers when fasting. What is the ruling on
that? 

He replied:

 Some people
are affected by constriction of breathing which is known as asthma. We ask
Allaah to keep us and them safe and sound. Two types of medicine are used,
one of which is known as capsules. This type breaks the fast because it is a
powder that has substance and can enter the stomach. The fasting person
should not use it in Ramadaan except in the case of necessity. If he uses it
in the case of necessity then he has broken his fast and may eat and drink
for the rest of the day, and make up another day in its place. If it so
happens that this sickness is ongoing, then he is like an old man who has to
feed one poor person for each day, and he does not have to fast. 

The second
type of asthma medicine is a gas which contains nothing but air which opens
the airways so that the person can breathe easily. This does not break the
fast; the fasting person may use it and his fast is valid. End quote. 

(19/question
no. 159). 

The Shaykh
(may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: 

There is a
person who has asthma and cannot read Qur’aan without using oxygen. Can he
use it during the day in Ramadaan? 

He replied: 

If it is not
essential for him to use oxygen, then it is better for him not to use it.
The fasting person is not obliged to read Qur’aan such that we would say
that he should use it in order to read Qur’aan. But some of those who are
afflicted with this sickness say, “I cannot stop using it, and if I do not
use it I fear that I may not be able to breathe.” So we say there is nothing
wrong with using this oxygen, because according to what we have heard it
does not reach the stomach, rather it reaches the veins and makes it easy to
breathe. If that is the case, there is nothing wrong with it. 

But there is
a type of pill that is given to asthma patients, which is a capsule that
contains powder. It is not permissible to use this when observing an
obligatory fast, because when it is mixed with saliva it reaches the
stomach, in which case it breaks the fast. If a person has to use it, then
he should break his fast and make up that day later on. If he has to use it
all the time, then he should break his fast and feed one poor person for
each day. And Allaah knows best. 

End quote. 

(19/question
no. 163). 

And Allaah knows
best.