Do you or your children suffer from asthma? Have you ever been unsure of the severity of the symptoms especially when it comes to your children? If so you are not alone – the AsthmaMD peak flow meter easily measures symptoms and helps individuals track their symptoms over a period of time.
It is important to monitor asthma symptoms over time to help determine causes, gradual changes and even to assist with medication dosages. Just to give you an idea about how many individuals are affected by asthma, every day in America 40,000 individuals miss school or work due to asthma, 30,000 individuals have an asthma attack and 5,000 individuals will visit an emergency room due to an asthma attack (Statistics from AsthmaMD).
A peak flow meter is a small, portable device used to measure air flow – your personal ability to blow air out of the lungs. It is important for individuals with asthma and parents of asthmatic children to know their normal ranges. These measurements are important in prescribing medications as well as implementing asthma action plans. The AsthmaMD Peak flow meter is the perfect size to carry in your handbag, school bag or to sports activities. The AsthmaMD peak flow meter is incredibly easy to use – our nine year old has had no problems using it all.
In our home, our eldest son has asthma. His symptoms are worsened during the colder weather as well as with illnesses. He is also a sports fanatic and can put his asthma symptoms aside if it is soccer time. As a parent this terrifies me! I rely on him telling me his symptoms and if he can’t voice him it is hard for me to know. Having the AsthmaMD peak flow meter at home has allowed us to monitor his symptoms, adjust his medications (usually increasing his medication dosage based on OUR personal asthma education plan – please remember each individual will have their own asthma education plan based on their personal medical history) which helps him enjoy his childhood. It eliminates the constant worry we as parents have that he may not be sharing all of his symptoms with us out of fear of missing soccer games and school.
Not only is the AsthmaMD peak flow meter easy to use it also comes with a helpful app (for Apple products) to track symptoms and measurements (and the app is free!). You are able to access the AsthmaMD Peak flow meter app from any location through your device, customize the settings to your personal medical history including your trigger symptoms. You can also at any time glance at your measurements on an easy to read graph.
Do you have a peak flow meter at home? How do you monitor and keep track of your asthma symptoms?
This is great information. My 3 year old son has asthma and when his symptoms quickly worsen I often wonder if I should be heading into the ER or stick it out at home. Is there an age range for using a peak flow meter? Is 3 too young?
Carla, thanks for such a great article. This is such a handy reference too. Peak flow meters really helps with adjusting medications and contacting the doctor when you have crisis or questions. @PTPA always has such great information.
Thanks Beverly! The peak flow meter has made such an improvement for his asthma care. He has been able to decrease his daily dosing and we monitor for when his symptoms become worse and adjust based on the severity. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and comment!
Hi Leah! I have definitely been there with our son and it is terrifying not knowing when to seek help (and the symptoms usually worsen very very quickly – I have actually refused to leave an emergency room before because I knew my son would only get worse despite what the physician said and sure enough he did!). Every child is different – I have worked in a Pediatric Allergy & Immunology dept are in the past and have administered Pulmonary Function testing to children as young as three – some are able to perform the test and others had a difficult time with. Do you have an Asthma Clinic in your area? I found the program to be quite helpful.