Peak flow querie

[Sye1980]

My peak flow is at 450 yet it should be 571 according to online sources. I am 35 5'10 or 177 cm and male. That puts it at 80% what it should be. I have not been taking my preventative fostair 100/6 when I should. If I do should I reach the lofty heights of 571 L/min

[Minushabens]

The obvious advice would be start taking it & see if it improves. Whether you will reach an optimum level depends on lots of things but, assuming asthma is the cause of the fall, you should certainly get a lot closer.

[pucageorgie]

Being asthmatic you may never hit the ideal; that's one way of measuring asthma. However, to put it bluntly, you're an idiot if you're not taking your meds! (I mean that nicely.) Take them; you might hit 570 or you might not, but you should be a lot better overall.

[Hidden]

Isn't Fostair a combi inhaler meaning it contains a reliever and preventer that are both long acting? So either way you'd benefit. Not taking your meds is asking for trouble if you're asthmatic!

[Hidden]

You sound almost exactly the same a as me. I am 5'11 and I cant reach 500. But this hasn't affected me and I rarely take any medication now.

I played competitive badminton for many years ( stopped by shoulder injury) and cycle regularly 60 miles a week plus occasionally I play casual football. You may have bronchial remodelling (look it up) or as the previous posters have suggested try the medication and see if it improves.

If you feel ok dont stress about it, but if it is affecting you they get it sorted out.

[TSST]

Interesting you mention online sources. I found this one:

peakflow.com/pefr_normal_va...

It seems to indicate that myself, as a 34 year old male of around 167 cm (or 5.5 inches), should have a peak flow of just below 620. Is this information correct?

[cconsta1]

To be honest I have always been told by my consultant they aren't to worried about what it should be for your height etc, more what's normal for you. If they are worried about lung function etc they would likely arrange for lung function tests, rather than measure your peak flow.

Take your fostair though, it's easy to forget etc but if you get hit with a cold etc and you're not taking your preventer you're more likely to know about it! I very much learnt the hard way about 7 years ago about not taking preventers

[Moonbear]

Everyones peak flows are individual to themselfs! Mine used to be between 500 & 450 on a good day, when my I was in my young 30's! When asthma lungs were not as scared as they are today. That was I was 5ft 7inc. But because of taking so many steriods I am now only 5ft 5inc as I have been diagnosed advanced osteoporosis, my spine is crumbling! But today I'm 53 and my peak flow on a good day will be no more than in the 200's. When my asthma is bad, it dosent go above 90! or having if I m having a full blown attack then its hardly readable at all! I know use a child's peakflow! As mine are so low.

So when I started doing them in the 1980's, I kept a diary for a month. I recorded my peak flow morning and night, then those readings were looked at by who was taking care of my asthma and they took a good the best avarge reading and the lowest reading! The best was best I could do, and was told that was my goal peak flow, but if it started to drop below a certain level which we agreed upon, which showed up on my records I kept, including how my lungs felt, it was agreed then that's when I should seek medicaladvice!

So because you have asthma you really can not go by a chart! you need to record it over a month! If you peakflow drops suddenly, the question is why what did you do that day, that was different to the day before! Write it down keep a record! Write good day, bad day and why!

If your ever admitted to hospital and do peakflows whilst admitted, you should know why they make you do them! If you don't I can explain more!

Hope this will make you understand the whole reason for peak flow checking is important and understand that it's what's normal for you! Not a chart that says it should be this, and yours is not that good! Think about what I said everyone's is different!