Normal Level for Flow Meter
- Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 13:59
- Asthma
- 584 views
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- TURNER:
- Welcome to the Ask The Doctor Mailbag. I’m Rick Turner your program host. Dr. David Stempel is with us to respond to questions from around the state. Dr. Stempel is an Allergist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. Dr. Stempel, thank you for joining us.
- STEMPEL:
- It’s a pleasure to be here this morning with you.
- TURNER:
- And let’s get right to the questions. Sandra is next to join us from Lynnwood. Hi, Sandra.
- SANDRA:
- Hi.
- TURNER:
- Welcome to the program, and what did you want to talk to Dr. Stempel about?
- SANDRA:
- Hi. Thanks. Dr. Stempel, I wanted to know what would be a normal level when using a peak flow meter?
- STEMPEL:
- Okay. First off, I need to know a little bit about how old you are and how big you are. But if you don’t want to say those things, let me see if I can give you an idea.
- SANDRA:
- Okay. Well I am 33. And I have had asthma for about four years.
- STEMPEL:
- Okay. About how tall are you?
- SANDRA:
- I’m about 5′7″.
- STEMPEL:
- Well, do you know the type of peak flow meter you have, the brand of it?
- SANDRA:
- I don’t. I can look real quick.
- STEMPEL:
- Well, let me give you some general ideas, okay? Are you there?
- SANDRA:
- Yeah, I am. I just grabbed it. It’s a Vitalagraph?
- STEMPEL:
- Vitalagraph. There are about five or six different peak flow meters. And unfortunately, all of the home peak flow meters are very accurate to themselves but not accurate when we compare them one to another.
- SANDRA:
- Okay.
- STEMPEL:
- So that the one you have, if you are feeling great and you were to see your doctor today and he was going to say, well we did a spirogram on you and it’s absolutely normal, and your peak flow is 350, 400, 450 somewhere in that range. That’s normal, probably.
- SANDRA:
- Okay.
- STEMPEL:
- Okay. Is that about where your peak flow is, somewhere in those numbers?
- SANDRA:
- Yeah. I go anywhere from 350 to 400, but since I’d never done it before I got asthma, I didn’t know for a normal person what should I be shooting for?
- STEMPEL:
- Well, one time when you’re seeing your doctor for a routine follow up, it’s important to get a lung function test, a spirogram.
- SANDRA:
- Okay.
- STEMPEL:
- And when you have that test, it’s good to have it on a day when you’re well. It’s also important sometimes to get it when you’re not feeling well as a comparison, but it’s always good to find out what your normal is. And at that time, if you’re feeling great, when you go home, do your peak flow and be certain that that 400 is normal.
- SANDRA:
- Okay.
- STEMPEL:
- What peak flow meters help us with more than anything else is to know when it is below its best. So what we’re really looking for is patients to achieve their personal best. And it sounds like you’re personal best is 400. If you know you’re 10% or 15% below that, so right around 350, then it’s time to use your reliever medication, your medicine like your Albuterol, you probably have Albuterol or Ventolin, is that correct?
- SANDRA:
- Mm-hmm.
- STEMPEL:
- And then if it’s going much below that, you might want to increase your dose of an inhaled corticosteroid if you’re on it, and if your peak flow normally is 400 and now it’s at about that 250 range and not really climbing up, it’s probably time to call your physician and say, hey, my peak flows are falling down. Is it time to add in Prednisone, what else can I do so that the symptoms don’t get worse?
- SANDRA:
- Wonderful.
- TURNER:
- Does that clear it up for you?
- SANDRA:
- It does. Thank you very much.
- TURNER:
- Thanks Sandra.
- SANDRA:
- Bye-bye.
- TURNER:
- Good luck to you.
- SANDRA:
- Thanks.
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