Asthma

[Colby20202]

Very worried age 26 had lung function test my fev1 80% my ratio is 55% but got told got big airway tubes

[horseygirl_0103]

Hmm i think I only blew about 30% what has your GP said

[Colby20202 in reply to horseygirl_0103]

Yeah but how old are you?

[horseygirl_0103 in reply to Colby20202]

54 y o

[Ergendl]

I've improved to 80% with more exercise, eating healthily and avoiding triggers like smoke. Has your GP made any suggestions to help you?

[Colby20202 in reply to Ergendl]

No as I don't smoke have for 7 years oh smoked for 5 year I felt fev1 80% low and ratio 55% was low at age 26 and I work outside with physical job nothing to effort me

[Ergendl in reply to Colby20202]

Triggers can be all sorts of odd things. I find smoke from bonfires can be a problem now, not just other people smoking. I also react to some cheap perfumes, certain gloss paints, and some cleaning products. I also avoid doing heavy work outside when it's pouring with rain as the high humidity leaves me gasping. And some pollens can cause symptoms, such as winter sown oil seed rape pollen.Wishing you all the best.

[Hidden]

With the caveat that I’m not medically qualified. Have you ever done spirometry (lung function) testing before? I ask because it’s a technique dependent test. It’s so dependent on technique that Children with lung disease routinely do it at least 4 times a year from the age of 6, but with little regard for the results until they get to age 10 or so and the doctors are completely satisfied the technique is perfected, yet many adults do it once or twice and the results are taken as gospel. Adults here that do it regularly will tell you that there are numerous factors that effect performance (and therefore results) on the day, ranging from if you walked to the appt, when you last ate, how you were feeling emotionally, and what you were thinking about. It’s also important to understand that results are interpreted as ‘fev1 of at least x%’ not only x%. The reason for this is that whilst it’s the best we’ve got, and false highs are extremely uncommon, false lows on spirometry are quite easily achieved and it’s therefore not actually that reliable as a test. It’s for all these reasons that spirometry is best used as a way to track changes and trends in lung function over time rather than a spot check used diagnostically or once in a blue moon. As a one off, it’s really not all that useful.

An fev1 of 80% or higher is considered within normal, however, your ratio is low. You don’t say whether they undertook reversibility with you, which is where you do one set of spirometry then repeat a second time having had a bronchodilator: if they didn’t do this then you absolutely need it doing to determine whether your current results are indicative of having asthma or a different form of obstructive lung disease. My other question is who did the testing? What have they said in terms of follow up? I don’t know what they’re trying to say by telling you you have ‘big airway tubes’, or how they possibly determined that from spirometry, but big airway tubes isn’t going to impact on your spirometry results because it’s about the amount of air you can exhale, and the speed at which you exhale.