Peak flow meter

[chocklate]

Hi all. Has anyone bought a peak flow meter? I use one now and when I blow my measure is 180 max. Now not sure what this means and what colour zone I am in. Please help if you can. Thanks.

[Yumz199725]

I've had a peakflow monitor for a long time, literally a life saver also having an asthma action plan is handy way of keeping track on what's a good peakflow and a dangerously low one. For me my best is 600 and my worst is 290 I have recently had an asthma attack a few weeks ago and still recovering but having the peakflow helped me to gage when to get medical help. I'm on my 3rd course of steroids and I'm on 3 different inhalers now so asthma is the worst it's ever been. I would definitely advise you to go to your GP and speak to your asthma nurse, are you having any symptoms with the low peakflow reading like, tight chest, dry cough, wheezing, shortness of breathe?? Hope you can get some advise and an asthma action plan set up for future reference, really is a life saver! ❤️

[chocklate in reply to Yumz199725]

Thank you Yumz for the reply. I have the Rosmax pfm of 120. Live in South Africa no asthma nurses here and not sure my local GP can assist me. I am coughing a lot now have mucus and shortness of breath. I suffer from post nasal drip which causes the cough. Middle of our winter now dry cold air not helping the Asthma. I have to just try and exhale properly and will see if it goes down after this. I wheeze a lot so airways clogged up somehow. I use two inhalers daily and was wondering if I need Prednisone now

[Yumz199725 in reply to chocklate]

Definitely sounds to me like u need steroids yeah but obviously I'm not a doctor so please go to your GP if that's possible x

[chocklate in reply to Yumz199725]

Thank you will do that.

[Patk1 in reply to chocklate]

That's poor care.for catarrh,maybe wor6h trying an over the counter antihistamine + if needed, steroid nose spray.do u have a steroid inhaler and salbutamol/ventolin.in uk, when wheezy we r advised to increase salbutamol & use when needed .On aluk website,there's lot of info on asthma.when struggling,I use " controlled breathing technique". It's gd to practise as it helps to inflate lungs.i also use it whn able to walk,go upstairs

[chocklate in reply to Patk1]

Thanks Patk1. I thnk will get the antihistamine to dry up my nose. I have Symbicort and VENTEZE inhalers. Thank you for your advice I appreciate it.I

[Patk1 in reply to chocklate]

Worth a try.nose× sinus probs seem to be more common with asthma .x

[chocklate in reply to Patk1]

Hi. I tried the peak flow before meds this morning only q 120? Feeling o.k. though. Always congested early when I wake up. It gets better as I move about. Do I need to panic?

[Patk1 in reply to chocklate]

I'd not panic if Yr not getting worse.hows Yr technique with peak flow if u bought it yrself?Just to be sure - sit down and relax.take a deep breath in to fill lungs,deep as possible,hold while put pf meter in mouth creating a seal around mouthpiece then blow out as hard as u can. U record the best of 3

[chocklate in reply to Patk1]

Hi Patki 1 thank you for your help. I stand but think it would be easier if I sit. I do record best of 3.

[chocklate in reply to Patk1]

P.s I use the Symbicord twice a day and VENTEZE 3 X per day as well prescribed. Also use Nexomist nasal spray for allergy.

[Alberta56]

I may be wrong but I think peak flow meters are mainly used to compare our present performance with out past ones. I have a feeling that they do not necessarily tell the user how well or sick they are compared to other people.

[chocklate in reply to Alberta56]

Thanks will record results over the weeks to really see what my lungs are doing. Thanks for your reply x

[Shirazmataz]

hi Chocklate, having been a very well managed asthmatic for many years, i have had more ups and downs with it in the last 2-3 years. I use my peak flow meter every morning now to get a feel for how my lungs are doing each day. Its very useful. I am triggered by wet weather and we have had a lot of it in the UK in the last year so i can tell if is is damp or raining outside before even drawing the curtains. The other gadget i now use is also taking my Fostair through an Aero chamber which seems more effective at getting the treatment down to where it is really needed. You can take one big puff but i prefer to use the method where you breath in and out about 5 times to maximise getting it down as far as possible. Did you try one of those as it might help? All the best Sally

[chocklate in reply to Shirazmataz]

Thank you Sally. I will try that each day. Do you use the meter before inhaling meds?

[Shirazmataz in reply to chocklate]

yes before meds. Then if you wanted to see the effect of the meds you could do it a while afterwards which might be useful. Maybe 15 mins after to give time to work. If you are having problems with your asthma management - say your lungs clamped up during the day, also useful to use the peak flow and record your results. Its a measure that is very useful to show the doctors to describe how you are doing. In fact, a pharmacist changed my treatment recently, and i was able to show my peak flow measurements had gone down with the new inhaler, so was able to get back onto the one i was using originally. A very useful piece of equipment. Hope you find it useful too. Sally

[chocklate in reply to Shirazmataz]

Thank you Sally will do that. We have a good pharmacist here she ccoud advise me. Our G P expensive now. This is a rural town in Eastern Cape and we are far from specialists. Have learnt a lot on this platform and I am grateful for the support as I live on a farm and. Feel isolated here.

[Biker88]

As mentioned the peak flow is a guide to see if your lung function is getting better or worse. Do you take the best of three readings? don’t rely on the first puff as this tends to be low. I haven’t done mine for a while due to significant lung bleed back in March, but prior to that 120-250 was my normal

[chocklate in reply to Biker88]

Thanks Biker. Yes I take best of 3

[Nula2]

Hi, I have a peak flow metre and I'm lucky if I can get over 150 nowadays. Usually mine is around 145-150. Guess it depends on your age and how well you can control your breathing ?xxx

[chocklate in reply to Nula2]

Thank you Nula 2 for your help. I am relieved to know I'm not alone in this battle! Am a 75 yr old lady so probably won't be able to get to very high measures.

[Nula2 in reply to chocklate]

Yes I'm a 71 year old female so just assuming it's to do with age although I was issued my peak flow metre from my local hospital on the NHS and when the nurse showed me how to use it and then asked me to try she was surprised how low my readings were.

[chocklate in reply to Nula2]

I just got it online and followed the instructions will just keep using X thank you

[MoyB]

HI,

You may find the following link helpful. You can print off the recording sheets and track your peak flow scores twice a day. You can then see how you are doing and notice if your pf rises or falls. Mine is always higher at the end of the day. There's plenty of good advice on the web site.

Peak flow diary

Asthma + Lung UK

shop.asthmaandlung.org.uk › products › peak-flo...

peak flow diary pdf from shop.asthmaandlung.org.uk

This resource tells you all about peak flow and has a diary to record your daily peak flow scores and symptoms ... You can download this information as a free PDF ...

xx Moy

[chocklate in reply to MoyB]

Dear Moy. Really helpful advice will get on to that site to download and print. Appreciate all the advice I can get xxxx

[MoyB in reply to chocklate]

You're very welcome. xx Moy

[Ergendl]

My peak flow readings now average about 240, and were usually no higher than 360 twenty years ago. I use my peak flow meter to compare my own readings rather than against an average for my age. Because of my singing training, I can use that relatively low lung capacity to great effect - I love singing Fauré's Pie Jesu and 'We'll gather lilacs in the spring again'.

If my readings drop further, I know there is a problem and it's time to speak to my GP - trying to avoid this at all costs!

[chocklate in reply to Ergendl]

Hi thanks Ergendl for your reply. I understand the use of this meter now after getting more info from this forum.