Peak Flow Meter Readings - The Benefits of a Digital Peak Flow Meter

The asthma peak flow meter is a commonly used device by asthma sufferers. This device records the speed at which the air can be pushed out of the lungs in one hard breath by the asthma sufferer. This sort of reading is taken due to the effect that asthma has on the airways in the lungs, which is to narrow and tighten the bronchial tubes, which in turn effects how much and how fast an affected person can expel air from the lungs. By analyzing the readings from the asthma peak flow meter, a doctor can see whether a patient is in the danger zone for an asthma attack, and take preventative measures accordingly.

There's a great deal of different asthma peak flow meters available, and most asthma sufferers will want to have one at home for daily use, and parents with asthmatic children will especially want to keep a close eye on their children's symptoms. Of all the meters available, they mostly fall into two categories, digital and traditional.

Traditional meters are mechanical in nature, where the breath expelled from the lungs pushes a flap that is attached to a sliding notch with indicators of speed along the side. Despite the seemingly simple nature of these devices, they are extremely accurate. In fact, studies have shown that digital models offer no improvements in accuracy over the traditional kind of meter.

While no more accurate, a meter can have some benefits depending on how a patient prefers to record and analyze their readings. Digital meters can store readings on the memory of the device itself, freeing the patient from recording them in a diary, which many people find extremely convenient. They can record months of data before the results have to be downloaded, and will indicate when they need to be cleared. Additionally, all the data is viewable on the device itself.

When downloading the results, a digital asthma peak flow meter software package can be used to store and analyze the data, which can be presented in graphs, averages over time, and many other ways that allow the user to see when their results were at their best and worst and correlate that data with their lifestyle, location and activities of the time.

In short, a digital asthma peak flow meter is not a necessity, and you can get by just fine with the old kind. But if you are prepared to spend the money, they can offer you enormous flexibility and convenience in recording and analyzing the peak flow readings.