How To Use A Peak Flow Meter

1. Your child should be sitting up straight, or can stand if more comfortable.
   
   
2. Your child should be awake and cooperative, otherwise reading is unreliable.
   
   
3. Move indicator (pointer) to bottom (zero) of scale.
   
   
4. Your child should take as deep a breath as possible
   (breathe in and fill up lungs all the way)
   
   
5. Place mouthpiece of peak flow meter the child’s mouth.
   
   
6. Blow (‘huff’) out the air as hard and as fast as possible
   (should not be a puff, pop or spit) into peak flow meter.
   
   
7. Repeat steps 3-6 two more times and record the highest (not average) of the three numbers.
   
   
8. Write down the peak flow number on your asthma diary.
   
   

Lack of cooperation and effort can greatly change peak flow readings.
You cannot reliably compare peak flows between different meters.
Dropping or jarring meters can affect their performance and reliability.