Indicator Of Health: Peak Flow

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Indicator of health: Peak Flow Peak flow is a way a GP, nurse or health practitioner can monitor how well the respiratory system is working. Peak flow means that the maximum rate that can person can blow out air of their lungs. A client that has a good respiratory system will have a higher peak flow then someone that has a poor respiratory system, such as bronchitis, asthma, or smoking problems. Peak flow is measured using a peak flow meter. The picture below shows what a peak flow meter looks like. I got this picture from http://www.peakflow.com/top_nav/background/index.html Peak flow is measured in decimetres cubed (dm³) per minute (mm). A peak flow meter is used to oversee lung capacity. A client can be an adult or a child over the age of six, to be able to take their peak flow correctly. Taking a clients peak will depend on their age, height and gender, so everybody’s peak will vary from person to person, as nobodies peak will same as each other they will only be similar. A nurse or a GP will ask their client to take their peak flow because they can know how well their lungs are working not just by how they feel, also the GP or nurse will check to see if the treatment is taking any effect on them. Also to know if the client will need any chance in their treatment. For example, someone whom has asthma they would have to go their GP or nurse for a regular check up on their peak for, this is for to see if their asthma is getting better or worse, if the treatment helping them at all. The char above show what an adult’s normal peak flow should be. The chart shows the adults age and height and what their peak flow should be. I got this chart from http://www.peakflow.com/top_nav/normal_values/index.html Working out my client’s I greeted my client with a hand shake and a bit of small chat to try to make her feel more comfortable. I then told my client that

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