Why would my doctor order peak flow testing?
Most of us pulmonologists will order peak flow testing because we want the asthmatic patients, primarily, to keep a day by day, if not twice a day, log of what their treatment is doing to their airflows and how they're responding to their environment with their asthma. So, I'll order a peak flow test not as a single test, but I'll ask them to do it on a daily basis to help them understand how well their medications are doing and number two, whether or not they're developing an asthma attack and they need to be positioned in such a way that they get better control, maybe in escalation of their medicines, somewhat, so they'll have better control over their airways. If you're an asthmatic and using peak flow properly, you'll know that your peak flow personal best may be 400 liters per minute flow. If you suddenly see that you, for the next 12 hours, drop your flow rates down to, let's say 300 or 250, you pretty well can bet that you're on your way to having a major attack. Therefore, you should increase your medications, or let's say that it would go to 200, which is fifty percent of your personal best at 400. With 200, you should pick up your phone and say "Can I have an appointment tomorrow morning with my pulmonologist?", or you might decide it's time for you to go to the emergency room. Because, certainly if your personal best is 400 and you're down to 200 you will be very short of breath and you will be very uncomfortable.
