Peak Flow / Some questions

Hi everyone,

I recently posted about having quit smoking. I'm now onto day 8

Anyway, saw my Asthma Nurse this morning.

She's given me one of those Peak Flow meter things. I haven't used one in years! Anyway, my reading was 520, which was normal for my height etc.

But what I don't understand is, when I had a tight chest earlier on - my peak flow reading didn't go down? Is that normal?

Also, she said my asthma *might* get worse because I've quit smoking and all the tar will start coming up.

Seeing as I've never had a serious asthma attack (The worst I've ever had was chest tightness with some wheezing, but I could still breath OK; this was during a chest infection)

Can I just ask for some tips on how to deal with a bad asthma attack? I'm just so worried because I've never had one; and it makes me panic even more because asthma can be fatal!

Thanks