How do doctors check if you have asthma?

Answer

Asthma is a chronic disease that always includes wheezing as part of its manifestation. However, not all wheezing is asthma. People can wheeze for various other reasons, which will result in positive tests for bronchospasm like peak flow, yet not have the diagnosis of asthma. An example is lung disease from smoking which can cause terrible wheezing, but is not Asthma. The diagnosis of Asthma can be correctly made by a doctor who understands your whole history of wheezing, your allergy history, smoking history etc. and they may want to do additional tests to support their diagnosis like spirometry tests or pulmonary function tests. Peak flow is not used to diagnose asthma, but to give an objective test to tell how bad your wheezing is, regardless of what is causing it.  

Answer

To check if you have asthma they do a peak flow test, they make you blow into a peak flow which is a rectangle thing with numbers on, it has a tube on the top for you to blow into. You blow into it then they take down the number, make you take an inhaler and then a few minutes later blow into it again, if the number has increased by a bit and your symptoms are the same as what asthmatics have then they say that you have it. Or they could give you an inhaler to take for a month and make you go back and see if anything has changed  

Answer

I went to the doctor about a cold and after listening to me breathe, she said I have asthma, but I also just quit smoking at the time, and she never did any peak flow thing. I was given two inhalers and I am not sure whether I should be using them now or not. Thank you for the information, I never would have known that otherwise.

 

Answer

There is no precise physiologic, immunologic, or histologic test for diagnosing asthma. The diagnosis is usually made based on the pattern of symptoms
We generally determine respiratory diseases with a multitude of tests, we also combine our knowledge of your allergies and environmental factors to determine whether or not a person is Asthmatic.
Airflow in the airways is measured with a 'peak flow' apparatus or a 'Spirometer'.

We check your results against a diagnostic chart provided by the British Thoracic Society to determine the severity of the Asthma and then decide on a prescription suitable for you. In regard to the person above me, inhalation devices of Salbutamol are often prescribed for the relief of bronchospasm... But diagnosing Asthma without testing is irresponsible- That said! Some Asthmatics show barely any symptoms at times of testing, so sometimes it can be up to our/Doctors judgement. while all the above is true to a point there are different test to determine what kind of respitory problem another that was not mentioned iss arterial gasses or use of a pulse oximeter or a complete medical history some use a glass airtight booth to determine other features another was mentioned was you are given a tube to blow into untill you can blow no more then breathe into it to show lung capacity and of couse listening to you breathe with a stethoscope before the pulmonary function test