Well been to Gp today and my peak flow was 350 (should be 440 and over) I have been given a peak flow meter to record and monitor for a week and an inhaler to use when chest tight- is this usual way of diagnosing asthma? just curious
update- do I have asthma: Well been to... - Asthma Community ...
update- do I have asthma
It will help. The best thing you can do to get an idea is to take a peak flow reading, then take 2 or 3 puffs of your reliever (probably Ventolin?). After that, wait a few minutes then take another reading.
If you see a clear increase in the reading (usually 10%+), that's a definite indicator of asthma.
This is a way to diagnose the symptoms of asthma. It does not mean that you have asthma. For all sorts of reasons one can lose fine muscle control of breathing. Some of the fine muscle control can be regained by muscle re-education. In other cases you have developed an allergy to a particular substance and you are reacting to the substance.
More tests are needed to determine what is the cause so that you can determine the best treatment regime.
Hope this helps.