MODEL RELEASED. Asthma spacer. Father with his 7- year-old son, who is using a spacer (plastic chamber) with an inhaler (lower left) to treat his asthma. Asthma is a condition in which the small airways (bronchioles) in the lungs constrict, making it difficult to breathe. This causes wheezing, coughing and breathlessness. The symptoms can be relieved or prevented using bronchodilator drugs administered via an aerosol pump. Some children find the speed at which the drug is released is too fast. The spacer reduces the speed and makes it easier for the patient to inhale their medication.