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Got hold of a meter. First couple of hits on the peak flow were ~500 but then I was blowing 7-800s. My asthmatic friend said I was blowing wrong - you're not supposed to purse your lips like you're blowing out a candle, rather you're supposed 'hoh' at it like you're trying to steam a window, but harder. Doing it his way I dropped back down to 400s, lower than him.
hippy-
My asthmatic friend said I was blowing wrong - you're not supposed to purse your lips like you're blowing out a candle, rather you're supposed 'hoh' at it like you're trying to steam a window
Which meter? The normal issue is this one, which you fellate rather than playing like a trumpet, although I think you'd probably get a lower number by doing it wrong. If you're doing it right, you should be able to do 3 consecutive readings in under a minute and have them all within ±10l.min-1. The software on the electronic one flags unrepeatable readings.
gbj_tester
#realanswer Go to your GP and describe your symptoms. They will check your peak flow, and give you a peak flow meter so you can check what it is immediately after exercise. At your age you should be able to do about 650l/min, not sure what cut off they use for treatment but something like a 20% drop is significant. I've finished TTs with around 40% drop without having a massive effect on my time, but now with proper treatment I have no drop at all. If your peak flow drops a lot, you have a problem. If treatment with one of the Beta2agonist bronchodilators fixes it, you have asthma.
If you get that far, you won't need a referral to a pulmonary specialist, and then it's just a question of dialling in your doping regime. Most people will start on salbutamol in the UK, and most don't need to try any of the alternatives.