Asthma, persistent cough and repeating colds?

[TPMB12]

Well GP has sent me off for xray. Possibly a preventer might be needed. Not committing to asthma but using phrases like "asthma like condition". Is asthma just a catchall condition or name for a range of undefined conditions grouped by symptoms? Like IBS is not fully identified as one condition?

[TPMB12]

Well I'm monitoring with a peak flow. Noting when I take a inhaler and testing before and after taking it. After inhaler it jumps 70 or so. That makes me wonder whether the inhaler would have this effect of increasing my airflow for anyone without asthma. Does salbutamol have any effect on healthy people? 

[hellymedic]

AIUI Asthma is defined as a condition of reversible airways obstruction.

Non-asthmatics usually have unobstructed airways so salbutamol has no effect.

[Kim]

Does salbutamol have any effect on healthy people? 

Yes, but it's a marginal gain, as it were.  The effect of salbutamol on asthma can be positively spectacular.

Peak flow isn't the whole story (it can fluctuate randomly for some people, and means exactly nothing about how bad your asthma is unless you have an established baseline), but it's easy to test and plot graphs of, and may be a useful indication.

For me a change of 70l/min would be the point where the difference is meaningful, rather than random noise.  But I have hobbit lungs and can achieve a peak flow of 630 odd on a good day, which is fairly high.  (By the time I'm down in the mid 400s, there's definitely something wrong, but that might be considered a healthy reading by most people's standards.)  I generally notice symptoms^[1] before there's an unambiguous change in my peak flow.


_{[1] Or someone who knows me well spots me subconsciously scratching my neck (a tell-tale habit), and brings it to my attention.}

[DrMekon]

Pollution masks don't work for cycling - at the volume of air you need to ride, they leak. If you are worried about air pollution from traffic, then use side streets. I work with James tate, who's done a load of work using portable pm 2.5 monitors to show
Small changes in behaviour
(Use of side streets, avoiding places where buses stop
And start, etc) make a huge difference to exposure. His commute is painfully convoluted!

Hope you get sorted. I got CT scanned a few years back and they found bronchiectasis. They trust me with a stash, just in case... I'm on 10 pred tablets (50mg) a day. I'm unbearable on them, and have to warn colleagues I'm even more chatty than normal.

[TPMB12]

Well I have a constant 450 to 500 but dip to as low as 280 to 350. I take the salbutamol and 5 minutes later I'm at 470 again. Now the last time I measured this jump was 140. So I'm guessing that's a good indicator of asthma?

So a few weeks of peak flow measurements. Well an easy measurement device with simple data to look at appeals. I'll graph it up and look for patterns too. I'm thinking I have low readings at certain times of the day. Is it relevant to note anything alongside the measurements? Say activity, where you are, etc. With some conditions activity, diet is relative and GP asks you to record such things. Asthma probably doesn't need as much extra information but is anything else worth noting?

BTW with the peak flow meter I take three readings at each time. I've noticed the first reading is slightly higher than the second and third one. Only talking 30 drop after the first reading but the other two readings tend to be exactly the same. This all interests me, patterns in data. Probably irrelevant.

So what can this peak flow data show? It drops and salbutamol helps it recover to normal. Not unknown information to me, I feel it every time it happened before I got the meter. What else can it tell us?

[DrMekon]

My consultant isn't interested in any of my data. I've got a Air smart spirometer and a powerbreathe k5. He couldn't give a shit. I used to log loads of data, but tbh, other than Seeing a bit of a gain from the powerbreathe, and the usual drop from illness, I didn't get a lot of insight from it. I've found resting heart rate useful for forewarning / confirmation in coming down with something.

[hellymedic]

Most data is useful and experts can look at it and sort the wheat from the chaff, so chart everything.

Peak flow measurement is technique dependent and technique improves a little in time and with practice.
There again, repeatedly puffing maximally into a meter can provoke bronchospasm and reduced flow in some people.

Asthma can be triggered by:
Cold
Exercise
Infection
Allergy
Other stuff

Noting time of day when peak flow is best and worst will give you and your doctor clues as to what might be causing or worsening your trouble and how to manage things.

Feed your doctor all the data you can.

It seems your peak flow is changing enough to confirm a diagnosis of asthma.

Normal peak flow is related to height and sex. A tall healthy man will have a peak flow of around 600 while a woman will blow around 450.

 

[TPMB12]

Both my partner and myself have been diagnosed with asthma. Myself last year but this year they're looking at a preventer and chest xrays. We're both lower than the 600 and 450 for men and women you mentioned. Mine is the same as women's it seems when I've taken salbutamol.

Must admit I've used equipment similar to a peak flow meter so I've learnt how to get the best out of it but I've always known others were better at it. Now at least it's explained why,  asthma. The main thing is I get consistent results. For example I take three measurements and after taking salbutamol I get three identical readings. If I'm at a.lower reading because I'm coughing a lot and/or breathing with a degree of difficulty then the second and third reading are lower than the first (reading reduces with each measurement).

Anyway I'm sure I'll find out what the GP thinks when I go.back in a couple of weeks.