It can also help you identify triggers, allergies, or infections that could be making your asthma worse. If you get a peak flow score that’s lower than your best score, it can act as an early warning sign and help you prevent an asthma attack. Ask your GP to re-assess your best score if it’s been a few years since it was checked. You need to record your peak flow for at least two weeks to get a personal best score. If you’ve had a change of medicines recently, a good peak flow score can reassure you that your new medicines are working well. If you’re using your medicines as planned and following your action plan, you should stay close to your personal best score most of the time. The score that’s usual for you when you’re well is sometimes called your ‘best score’. You and your GP or asthma nurse can then look at the scores you’ve been getting and identify what score to expect when you’re well. Or you might want to use a calendar on your phone to note your scores. You can do this using our peak flow diary. So it’s important to note down your scores every day, whether you’re using peak flow all the time, or have been asked by your GP to use it for two or more weeks to see how your asthma is. To understand your own peak flow, you need to see a pattern of scores over time. The most important thing is whether your score is normal for you.
For example, it’s normal for your score to be slightly lower in the morning. Peak flow can vary at different times of the day too. People get different peak flow scores depending on their age, height, and gender.
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“Speak to your healthcare professional about why this might be, and how you can monitor your asthma safely.” Understanding your peak flow scores “Some people with asthma don't notice changes in their peak flow scores when they have symptoms,” says Dr Andy Whittamore, Asthma UK's in-house GP. If you get a pattern of scores showing up and down variations which are not normal, it could indicate asthma including occupational asthma. You may be asked to keep a peak flow diary for a couple of weeks to help your GP confirm an asthma diagnosis. For example, if you’re recovering from an asthma attack, or your treatment plan has changed. Monitoring peak flow is most useful at key times. Talk to your GP or asthma nurse about whether you need to monitor your peak flow, how often, and what to do when your scores change. You're having symptoms, or need to use your reliever inhaler three or more times a week, even if your peak flow scores are normal.
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