Asthma Support Group

Asthma is a disease of the human respiratory system where the airways narrow, often in response to a "trigger" such as exposure to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. This airway narrowing causes symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing, which respond to bronchodilators.

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medic2012 07/29/2012

Since i started see a pulmonologist he has scheduled a PFT for me tomorrow. Now can anyone tell me exactly what that is and does it show if you have asthma and how bad it is. Reason i'm asking is because,,my dr. told me he wanted to do this test to see if i had asthma. Now i have been seeing asthma drs and allergies going on 20yrs and they always said i did and i have been treated with asthma meds and stuff. Why would he say different? Does a pulmo dr. know more than an asthma dr and why would he say this test would show. Any and all responses are so welcomed. Thanks so much. And btw,,,is a PFT a bad test , like any side effects? Thanks

deleted_user 07/30/2012

A PFT is a Pulmonary Function Test. It measures how much air you are getting when you breath. They wll have you take a deep breath and then blow as hard and as long and fast as you can. hen they will give you a few minutes on a nebulizer and then do the test again to see if it improves.

deleted_user 08/16/2012

I've had it done and I guess there's no side effects unless you were short of breathe before hand or something.

They try to make it more fun to. They put up games such as bowling and you have to try and hit the pins. Your the ball and you control it with your breath.

Yeah blue? They don't do that with me. Well I used to get regular lung function tests but as my asthma became less severe I have less done.

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