Can albuterol be used for difficulty breathing at night, even if you don't have asthma? would it harm you?

Dyspnea : albuterol can be used for other respiratory conditions aside from asthma. These include emphysema, chronic bronchitis or other reactive airway diseases. You should ensure that your breathing difficulties are related to your lungs and not another causes such as obstructive sleep apnea or congestive heart failure. It may cause a rapid heart beat or feelings of anxiety.

Yes: it can be used, but if you improve with albuterol, there may be undiagnosed asthma, may need full investigation and/or another opinion from an allergy specialist

If prescribed only.: Albuterol is prescribed for those who may not have been diagnosed with asthma, but who may have similar bronchospasm occurring in their lungs. Side effects, if taken as labeled, are minor in healthy people (no heart issues). Still, unsupervised use (especially overuse) carries some risk, so only use medication if prescribed to you (not someone else).

Not usually: But you need to find out the cause for your problem. Unless if you use it several times daily without an inhaled steroid, it unlikely to be harmful. However it does have some cardiovascular effects when used frequently. Need to see doctor to find out the cause which may also include heart failure, sleep apnea , lung diseases including asthma