Home peak flow meter

[Mariachristina76]

Is 360 on peak flow meter reading normal

[twinkly29]

Normal depends on various factors like age and height, and also technique. Also what's normal for one person (of same age, height and sex) isn't necessarily normal for another. I know that's not very helpful but peak flow is a weird thing really.

[Mariachristina76 in reply to twinkly29]

Well my doctor not told me much just to get one.and check my air flow

[twinkly29]

In that case I would do best of 3 goes every morning and every evening for a week and take those results back to your doctor.

[Mariachristina76 in reply to twinkly29]

Ok thanks

[twinkly29 in reply to Mariachristina76]

It's not a useful measure as a one-off but hopefully this will give them some readings to go off - it's always helpful when doctors explain themselves isn't it?! 🙈

[Junglechicken]

I’ve had asthma all my life and its only since I joined the forum that I found out how to use peak flow readings. In a nut shell you should have a personal best, which is a reading you take during a period when you feel well (no symptoms, good control) then use this to compare with your day to day readings and aim to stay within 80% of this figure (green zone). For example my PB is 485 if I drop below 390 (amber zone) I know I need to monitor the situation and take appropriate action. Hope that helps.

[Mariachristina76 in reply to Junglechicken]

Thanks

[Hoggle]

Try using an app like Peak Flow. Record your peak flow pre and post your meds at least twice a day and it will readjust your green, amber and red zones based on the results you put in. Try to do this at around the same time each day. Adding notes with the reading about how you are feeling and the context is useful too.

You should start to see patterns and it makes it much easier to talk with health care professionals about how your asthma is and how effective your medications are.

I record a best of 3 for the graph but also put all 3 readings into the notes. I figure the more data you have for the docs the better.

If something triggers your asthma and you feel poorly you can do your peak flow and add that to the app at any time. This means you can show the doc what a bad day looks like as sometimes you might be ok for the appointment and might have been ok during the regular peak flow times you have chosen.

[Biggie_McDick]

It depends on the person.

My own normal is 360-380.

If a 'healthy' person gave those readings they would be sent straight to ER.

As has been suggested, take regular readings (best of 3) and report these to your doctor.

[Yellow75]

I'd follow advice given above. Its useful as a guide in terms of where your asthma may be, but symptoms you have and how you feel also need to be taken into account.

[Superzob]

This is rather like asking "how long is a piece of string", as there are so many variables. If you Google "peak flow chart" you will get a number of useful tables giving average normal peak flows, based on age, gender and height. But bear in mind that theses are averages, and everyone is different.

You've not said why your doctor wants you to test your peak flow, though I suspect it is because s/he believes you have a lung function problem. You should ask for clarification because the figure is not much use unless it is to diagnose a problem which can then be treated. If you've been given an inhaler, then before and after peak flow measurements would indicate whether the inhaler is working and whether any lung function problem is reversible (as with asthma).

Don't be afraid to ask the doctor for more info; a lot of people are a bit scared of asking, but doctors are just people, so think of it as having a conversation with one of your friends (take one with you next time you visit if it makes you feel more confident). Most professionals like to show off their expertise if given the chance, so I'm sure your GP would be more than willing to share his/her knowledge with you if you ask.

Best of luck.

[Hidden]

Hi, Junglechicken is absolutely right about monitoring against your personal best however there is one extra reading to take which can be useful.

That is to take a reading first thing in the morning before taking any meds, if your Asthma is under control during the day then that is likely to be your lowest reading of the day and you can then see the variance between your lowest and highest readings.

There seems to be differing views on what is an acceptable variance, I tend to work on a variance of 10% as being a reasonable figure for me.

It is important not to get hung up on your actual figure, 360 for yourself may be normal and if you feel fine at that reading then all is well.

I know from my readings that if I was to blow 360 then I am into the amber zone that Junglechicken referred to. We are all different and sometimes it just comes down to how good your technique is with the flow meter.

As others have said in their reply the secret is to keep a record of your peak flow readings and record against the readings how you are at the time, it’s so useful when you see your doctor.

Don’t forget to take 3 readings each time and record the highest reading and give yourself a minute or 2 between each reading to get your breath back.

A long reply but I hope you find some of it helpful.

[hilary39]

You can check it against this chart with your age and height

peakflow.com/top_nav/normal...