Peak flow higher in the evening

[ClareS23]

Hello 👋

My GP has requested we keep a peak flow diary for my 8 year old son as she is quering he has asthma.

We are on day 4 now and I've noticed his readings are always lower in the evening. Everything online says they are normally lower in the morning. Has anyone else had this?

His morning readings are between 200-220 and his evening readings are between 170-190. He had ventolin after doing the peak flow then re check 20 mins later and the reading go up by 10-20.

Just wondering if anyone else's peak flow is higher in the evening than the morning as everything online suggests it should be the other way around.

Thank you 😊

[SmilesForMiles]

It might just depend on what's setting off his asthma.

Mine is normally highest mid afternoon, I think it does vary by individual depending on what is setting off their asthma (for instance some pollens are higher morning, vs some are high later in the day, or maybe he's being exposed to something at school or doing an evening activity that is impacting his peak flow).

Mine does just vary randomly, some days it'll be high in the morning and then drop too, so you might see more patterns as you record for longer.

Peak flow is generally more useful to see trends, how he compares to his age group/gender. I would just keep monitoring + if it is a persistent pattern maybe that's a clue as to one of his triggers?

[ClareS23 in reply to SmilesForMiles]

Thank you so much for your response 😊

It's good to know that sometimes others are higher in the morning than later in the day. Everything I read online was saying they are normally lower in the morning so his reading were baffling me.

I'm really unsure what his triggers might be. One of the evenings he had football training which could explain it but the others he hadn't done anything apart from school that day but he does play football in school a lot too - every break time he's with his ball. But even after a few hours of just relaxing at home they are still lower in the evening.

Xx

[Gareth57 in reply to ClareS23]

if he has asthma symptoms it would be worth checking his peak flow both before and after ventolin to see if there is much variation and record it for your GP

[ClareS23 in reply to Gareth57]

Hi Gareth

Yes we are recording before & after ventolin as per GP request. They p up between 10-30 after 20 mins. This morning they went from 160 to 220- the 220 reading was about an hour after the ventolin

[Homely2 Administrator]

My readings are good at the beginning of the day, fall sharply during the activities of the day, recover a little in the evening, but are still quite a bit lower than at the start of the day.

It is all individual, my bedroom is better for my asthma than my surroundings during the day.

So your readings give you a clue as to what is troubling your asthma. In my case, housework is definitely an issue. But that might be my laziness speaking.

[ClareS23 in reply to Homely2]

Hello Homely

Thank you for your response. That's reassuring to know that others have lower reading in the evening

I was just baffled because his evening ones are always lower despite everything online saying its usually the other way around

His main symptom is a dry cough but also does get breathless during excursion a lot quicker than he used to

Hoping these peak flows give the GP an idea of what's going on 🤞🤞

[AJP2]

My daughter has monitored her peak flow for years and hers is frequently higher in the mornings. I have recently had a return of my own asthma symptoms and and have certainly found that these worsen during the day likely as a result of the cold weather. Like your son one of my main symptoms is a dry cough, neither myself or my daughter are wheezy asthmatics.

Keep recording his peak flows and also keep note of his symptoms each day too & if they improve with the ventolin

Good luck

[ClareS23 in reply to AJP2]

Thank you 😊 I'm keeping note of everything for GP so we shall see 🤞🤞 he's been so good doing it all bless him and reminds me every day peak flow now mam haha

[Mandevilla]

I'm usually worse in the evening.

It's a good idea to record the difference before and after the Ventolin. My readings jumped by 150 after Ventolin, which was one thing that helped convince the GP it was asthma.

[ClareS23 in reply to Mandevilla]

Thank you for your reply his haven't jumped that much after ventolin so far. Between 10-60 increase after ventolin