What should you know about a Contec spirometer?

You breathe into a mouthpiece while the device records how much air you move and how quickly you move it. This can help a clinician assess airflow limitation and compare breathing before and after an inhaled medicine when appropriate. A single reading is not a complete diagnosis. Poor sealing, coughing, hesitation, tiredness, or insufficient effort can alter the trace, so the quality of the manoeuvre matters as much as the printed values.

Follow the tester's instructions about medicines, meals, smoking, and activity. Sit upright, seal your lips around the mouthpiece, and follow each breathing instruction closely. Several attempts may be needed for consistent results. Tell the tester if you feel dizzy, develop chest discomfort, or cannot continue. Do not force yourself through severe symptoms to complete a measurement.

Seek urgent help for severe breathlessness at rest, blue or grey lips, chest pain, fainting, new confusion, or rapidly worsening wheeze. Arrange review for persistent cough, wheeze, reduced exercise tolerance, or repeated difficulty with normal activities. A clinician can decide whether spirometry is suitable and interpret it with your history and examination.

Ask what the test is intended to clarify, whether medicines need adjustment beforehand, how symptoms may affect effort, and when you will discuss the result and next steps.