Peakflowmetry is what?

Peakflowmetry is a procedure that is familiar to every person with lung pathologies. In order to assess their performance, it is important to understand how well the lungs work. And the correctness of the lungs is their ability to breathe in and out rhythmically, at the right speed. It is the rate of inspiration that is the object of a study of the procedure called peakflowmetry. Indicators of the norm, the way of carrying out, and other information everyone who suffers from lung diseases should know.

At what diseases is necessary?

To buy a portable device for carrying out peak flowmetry is necessary for all patients with bronchial asthma. Here you can draw an analogy with a portable device for measuring blood pressure, which should be for every hypertensive patient.

By conducting a regular self-examination, you can monitor the course of the disease, change the dosage of drugs, identify factors in which there is an exacerbation.

How is the procedure performed?

Peakflowmetry is a simple procedure that everyone can handle.

1. First you need to calm down, restore the rhythm of breathing, take a sitting and standing position.
2. You need to make a few shallow breaths and breaths, preparing the lungs for examination.
3. The device must be picked up so that its surface is strictly parallel to the level of the floor.
4. The person takes the maximum breath, grasps the mouthpiece with his lips and exhales sharply and deeply.
5. After that, the interval is made in a couple of minutes, and points 2 - 4 are repeated again.
6. Then the cycle is repeated again. The maximum value obtained as a result of three expirations must be considered as the result.

How often to make a survey?

All the necessary information regarding how often an exhalation rate should be measured is usually given to the patient by the doctor. But on the average it is recommended to do pikfloumetriju twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes you can do an extra measurement during the day, for example, if a new drug is being selected.

It is important to remember that peakflowmetry should be conducted at the same time. The second golden rule for conducting the correct study is that it must pass before using the inhalers. That is, the first measurement of expiratory flow rate occurs immediately after awakening, and the second one - in the evening, when more than 4 hours have elapsed between the procedure and the last use of the inhaler.

Indicators of the norm

For such an investigation as peakflowmetry, the norm is a highly individual concept. At what speed the lungs of a person exhale air, affects a number of factors, for example, its age, height and even sex.

Therefore, each patient needs to develop his own scale of normal indicators. This takes three weeks, in which a person should feel satisfactory, that is, no asthma attacks or bronchial obstruction.

1. A person does triple the rate of exhalation.
2. Multiply the maximum value from the identified indicators by a factor of 0.8. For example, a peak flow meter showed a maximum value of 350 l / min. When multiplying, the result is 280. That is, 280 l / min will be the lower boundary of the "green zone" - a result that can be characterized as good.
3. Further the maximum index, in this case 350 l / min is multiplied by a factor of 0.5, and we obtain a result of 175 l / min. The boundary between 280 l / min and 175 l / min will be considered as the "yellow zone". Such indicators indicate that the patient's condition is satisfactory, but he needs a doctor's consultation, which will be adjusted appointments.
4. If the performance of the peakflowmetry was less than the lower limit of the "yellow zone", then the indicators are in the "red zone". This is a dangerous condition for a person's life, a signal that a person needs urgent medical help.

What is the procedure for?

Such a system simplifies control over your health. Where a regular outpatient examination was required earlier, routine home-born pic- fluometry helps today. The algorithm of the procedure is so simple that it can easily be done unnoticed by others.

A person can independently vary the dosage of medications taken, so as not to overload the body with excess medications, or, alternatively, add a dosage, preventing an attack.

Practice shows that peakflowmetry is the most reliable way to avoid exacerbations, keep your health in a stable state, feel good.

Diary of procedures

All information received during daily studies should be preserved. This will provide an opportunity to assess the dynamics of the disease, the reaction of the body to certain medications. To do this, there is a diary of peakflowmetry.

You can do it yourself. Sometimes a diary is attached to the device. Keep a diary better at the bedside table, not forgetting to enter data every day. It must be taken with him to the doctor's office to visually show the reaction to the prescribed drugs.

When the selected treatment allows you to enter into a prolonged and persistent remission, you can stop measuring the expiratory flow every day. But with the slightest deterioration in the state of health, it is important to start using the peak meter immediately, recording the data in the diary.

For children

Peak floeometry in children is carried out in a similar way, as in adults. It is important to explain to the child the importance of carrying out the procedure, to teach him how to do it technically, to determine and record the result.

But in order to determine how much the meter's indicator corresponds to the norm, it is not necessary to create a schedule of "color zones" based on its own maximum values multiplied by the coefficients if the child has a controlled type of asthma.

It is enough to know the growth of a child: for each growth there is a standard exponent of the rate of expiration of air from the lungs.

The data given are approximate, more accurate data will be provided by the attending physician. But relying on them, you can determine the alarming moment. If the peak flow meter value is below the normal rate of exhaled air for the right age and growth, you should immediately consult a doctor.

In order to control the indicators of controlled asthma, you need to create a notebook in which to write down daily the testimony with notes, what preparations the child took, what physical or emotional strain it suffered.

But for children with uncontrolled asthma, it is better to use the "adult" type of record indicators, in which the results are entered in the red, yellow or green sector.

Calculation of normal indicators in children

Speaking about the chart of indicators, it should be said that we should not expect that the indicators will be an even line. This is physiologically impossible, since all indicators of a person's life constantly change throughout the day - temperature, pressure, etc. This is due to the natural adaptive mechanisms of the body. In order to evaluate the "norm" of the deviation, you need to take the average value and determine the radius of the normal deviation of 20 percent.

For example, if the child has a breath rate of 100 l / min, the normal range will be 120 to 80 l / min. If to compare with the method of color zoning, this interval will refer to the "green", that is, the safe zone.

In order to calculate the "yellow" interval of readings in this way, it is necessary to calculate the indices, which are in the range from 80 to 50% of the normal value. For a child with a normal expiratory flow rate, the "yellow" gap will be from 80 to 50 l / min. In the red sector will fall all the indicators below 50% of the norm.

Thus, child pikfloumetry is carried out. The behavioral algorithm for conducting a survey is similar to an adult survey, but keeping records of indicators has a number of differences related to the child's growth process and, accordingly, the volume of his lungs.

Peak Flourometer

The device for measuring the expiratory flow rate can be purchased at any pharmacy. It exists in the adult and children's variant, and it is extremely important for the child to buy a device suitable for his age, and then to teach how to use it. If the child is very small, the process can be turned into a game, offering the child to blow into the tube so that the circle on the device rises higher. After the child has got used to the device, it will be possible to begin to fix the results in the diary.

There are two types of construction - mechanical and electronic. Their difference, as the name implies, is that the electronic device is equipped with a small monitor, which displays the indicators. Such a device is more expensive, but its users often opt for a mechanical one, arguing that it is cheaper, more reliable and easy to clean.

Peakflowmetry is a necessary procedure for people suffering from lung diseases. Having created a convenient system for keeping a diary, you can keep your health and improve your health.