peak flow

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starrycaroline
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:57 pm
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by starrycaroline on Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:29 pm

peak flow

how long should it take for my peak flow to be back to how it should be
as i have had a very bad infection and be put on oral staroids and antibiotics and took of my eorthmicin antibiotics
as the doctor said it can withstand the eorthmicin as i have no spleen
and the doctor said not to put up my purple inhaler up as it can go any higher as it on the highst it can be
im just wondoring
caroline-jane

Kate99
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:31 pm
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by Kate99 on Wed May 02, 2012 4:40 pm

Re: peak flow

Have you considered asking in the nhs clinic? I asked a few asthma questions in there and you get some good answers.

Kathryn Dewdney
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:43 pm
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by Kathryn Dewdney on Sat May 19, 2012 10:49 pm

Re: peak flow

I do hope that by now you are fully recovered from your chest infection, and that your peak flow is back to normal. It is difficult to say exactly how long it will take for a peak flow to return to normal after a chest infection, but if it were not improving daily or you were concerned, it would be necessary to return to your doctor. Usually once someone starts taking a course of oral steroids and antibiotics there is quite a dramatic improvement in both symptoms and peak flow readings. It is important to complete both the courses of steroids and antibiotics that the doctor has prescribed for you. Although there is a chart showing peoples predicted peak flow readings, depending on sex, age and height, this is only a guide. It is therefore important for all people with asthma to know what peak flow they can achieve when they are well, as this is the peak flow they should be aiming to achieve at all times; sometimes this is higher than what is predicted, sometimes it is lower.
People are less likely to get chest infections if their asthma is under control. When asthma is not well controlled the inflamed airways produce mucous which acts as a medium for bugs to grow.
The purple inhaler that you take consists of a corticosteroid, Fluticasone and a long acting bronchodilator, Salmeterol. There are 3 doses of this inhaler, but the Salmeterol dose stays the same in each. There are 2 inhaler devices which administer this medication - the Evohaler and the Accuhaler. The Evohaler is half the strength of the Accuhaler so 2 puffs are required twice daily, instead of the 1 puff twice daily for the Accuhaler. The strengths, which reflect the dose of Fluticasone, are 50 (100), 125 (250) and 250 (500). As the bronchodilator is the same dose in all the strengths of this inhaler it is not usually advised to take more than the set dose. If a stronger inhaler is needed to control asthma at certain times, either a Fluticasone inhaler can be taken as well as the purple inhaler, or the next dose up purple inhaler should be used.

I hope this answers your query.
Kathryn Dewdney
Asthma Nurse
Alex Curtis Trust
Forum Moderator
talkhealth moderation team

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