Low Peak Flow

Hey Guys i don't often come on here as my asthma is not that servere. anyway my peakflow is never been that good around 375. around christmas i went to the doctors with a ongoing cough and he said that my peakflow was very low but wasnt going to do anything about it has my chest was clear. anyway i went to the asthma nurse in april as was called because i was due a check anway yet again my peakflow was still low around 300 so she told me to take my seretide inhalor though a spacer and come back in a month which would be in may well i have had a cold/hayfever since so dident bother as dident think i would get a true reading so was going to go when better. anyway now at the end of june still got the cold/sinuses and hayfever so havent been back yet but i tested my Peakflow on my aunties today as was messing around and it was 250 i was just wondering is that too low??. sorry for the long post

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Hi Jess,

Whether 375 is low really depends on your age, height etc - have you looked up what your predicted would be? If you google it you can get charts online, though it's worth remembering they are averages and individuals may vary - my real best is way above my predicted for instance, so for me my best predicted would actually be well into the yellow zone!

You may just naturally have a lower best PF, it might be ok if you're young and quite small, or it may be that you need better control. Even if you assume 375 is around your best, it should be within 80% of that really (that would be 300, just looked it up.) 200 really isn't great; it sounds like the cold has been messing with your lungs so you need to go back to the asthma nurse or GP asap (probably not the same GP you saw at Christmas, as he sounds a bit rubbish - if you were having symptoms and a low PF he should NOT be telling you to do nothing because your chest was clear, as that's not the only sign of asthma and doesn't have to be there to mean you're having issues, as you probably know!)

Basically, if it's low it means you need to do something - the cold/sinuses is probably the reason you're struggling and the PF indicates this - it's not just something that brings your PF down, it means you need to take action!

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If you've been having asthma symptoms during all the time you've had the cold/hayfever symptoms you definitely need to see your GP.

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if your best is 375 and you're currently at 300 to 250 then you should have an asthma review asap with your nurse or GP. they should do something to get your peak flow back to 375 and to reduce cold/hayfever symptoms.

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thanks for the advice i did have a quick look on google but couldn't work it out with all the different lines. I am 18 and 2 months and i am 5 FT 3 Inchs if that helps. going to try and get an appointment with either the asthma nurse or my GP this week who would be most helpful ??

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Hi again,

Try this one - I've used it and it seems a bit easier than the others.

peakflow.com/top_nav/normal...

I'm not sure who would be more helpful generally but I wouldn't go to the GP you saw last time as he doesn't sound very helpful, telling you that you must be ok as chest is clear even when you're struggling and have a low PF! I'd try a different GP, and if that's not possible or will be a long wait then the asthma nurse. Think you need to get this sorted sooner rather than later.