Knowing all about your asthma triggers and symptoms can help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the most effective treatment. Learn about the tests that your doctor may use to make an asthma diagnosis. Discover more about lung or pulmonary function tests and the different tests used for allergy and asthma. 

Problems with Diagnosing Asthma

The problem with diagnosing asthma is most of the time patients do not have obvious asthma symptoms when they arrive at the doctor’s office.

For instance, you may have coughed and wheezed for a week, and by the time, you see your doctor, you have no symptoms at all. Then suddenly, when you least expect it, you might have asthma attack symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing. Sometimes allergies to seasonal pollen or weather changes can trigger asthma attack symptoms. Other times, a viral infection such as cold or flu can trigger asthma attack symptoms. Smoking with asthma can worsen asthma symptoms, as can sinusitis and asthma. Even exercise or sudden stress or allergies to aspirin or other medications can cause asthma attack symptoms.

If you have asthma, you may go for weeks to months without having any asthma symptoms. That makes diagnosing asthma even more difficult -- unless you do some homework, figure out your asthma triggers and causes of asthma, and help your doctor make an accurate asthma diagnosis. Once an accurate diagnosis is made, you can learn to recognize and treat your asthma symptoms with the right asthma medications so asthma does not interrupt your busy life.

Your doctor may use one or more of the following asthma tests in diagnosing asthma. These tests are used to assess your breathing and to monitor the effectiveness of asthma treatment.

Spirometry -- a pulmonary function test that measures how much air you can exhale. This asthma test confirms the presence of airway obstruction that improves with treatment, which is very characteristic of asthma, and can accurately measure the degree of lung function impairment. This test can also monitor your response to asthma medications and is recommended for adults and children over age five.

Peak Flow Testing – a self-assessment you can do at home to evaluate lung function. The peak flow rate (PEFR) provides a reliable objective measure of airway function. Your doctor will go over how to use a peak flow meter, which involves taking a deep breath and blowing out as hard as you can. Peak flow is the highest airflow velocity that you can achieve. When done accurately, a drop in the peak flow measurement reflects an obstruction in your airways. While peak flow is less accurate than office spirometry for monitoring of lung function, peak flow monitoring at home can help you manage your symptoms at home and help indicate when an asthma attack may be approaching.

Chest X-Ray – while not routinely required, if there are symptoms that may be caused by another condition such as pneumonia, your doctor may want to do a chest X-ray. On the other hand, if your asthma treatment is not working as well as it should, a chest X-ray may help to clarify the problem.

In diagnosing asthma, your doctor may order other asthma tests, including a methacholine challenge test. Methacholine is an agent that, when inhaled, causes airways to spasm and narrow if asthma is present.

Not everyone needs every asthma test. Trust your doctor to decide which set of asthma tests is best in your case to ensure no other medical problems are present.  This can help you avoid extra testing that may add little to your diagnosis and only increases the number of tests and expense. If you still do not feel comfortable with the asthma diagnosis, talk to your doctor to see if more testing is necessary.  On the other hand, get a second opinion until you have peace of mind that the asthma or breathing problem has been diagnosed correctly.  Then, proper asthma treatments can begin.  

Getting back in control of your asthma depends on an accurate asthma diagnosis and asthma support.  Once asthma is properly diagnosed, your doctor can prescribe the most effective asthma treatments, including an asthma inhaler and inhaled steroids that can relieve your breathing problems and help with prevention of asthma symptoms.