Health Library

Peak Flow Meter

Using a peak flow meter daily can help you:

• Monitor your child's breathing
• Identify when your child should take rescue medicine
• Stop a severe attack from happening
• Identify when to call the doctor or seek emergency care

How To Use a Peak Flow Meter:

Your child should:

1. Stand up and hold the peak flow meter in their hand with the mouthpiece facing toward them.
2. Move the indicator to the bottom of the scale.
3. Take a deep breath in, completely filling the lungs.
4. Place the mouthpiece in their mouth between the teeth, and close their lips tightly around it.
5. Blow out once as fast and hard as possible. Make sure your child's tongue and teeth do not block the hole of the mouthpiece. If your child coughs while blowing out, move the indicator to the bottom of the scale and repeat the procedure.
6. Read the scale by noting the number beside the indicator. This is the peak flow measurement.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 two more times.

Use the highest of the three blows as the peak flow measurement and write this number in your child's asthma diary.

When to Call Your Child's Doctor:

Refer to your asthma action plan that your Respiratory Therapist (RT) has helped you fill out during your admission. When your child’s peak flow meter is in the red zone, give their rescue inhaler. After doing this, call their doctor. If your child is not responding to their rescue inhaler, call your doctor and / or bring them to the Emergency Department.

Tips

Normal peak flow measurements can vary by age and height, and from person to person. Another person of the same age and height may not have the same measurement for normal that your child does. To find your child's normal measurement, do a peak flow measurement daily (when your child has no symptoms) for two to three weeks. This should be done first thing in the morning when your child gets out of bed and before taking any breathing medicines. The highest peak flow measurement during this period is called the "personal best." Your child's doctor can then use this measurement to develop an asthma care plan. This plan helps to tell you when to:

• Have your child take their rescue medicine
• Call the doctor
• Seek emergency care

Take your child's asthma diary with all peak flow data to their doctor visits.