What should you know about standard spirometry?

Standard spirometry is a breathing test that measures how much air you move and how quickly you can blow it out. It gives a clinician a structured picture of airflow through your lungs and may be used when symptoms such as wheeze, breathlessness, chest tightness, or an ongoing cough need assessment.

You usually sit upright, seal your lips around a mouthpiece, take a full breath in, then blow out hard and keep blowing until the clinician tells you to stop. Several attempts help produce a reliable reading. A nose clip may be used so air leaves through the mouthpiece. The spirometer records the exhaled air and the speed of the blow.

Results are interpreted alongside your symptoms, examination, health history, and sometimes a repeat test after a prescribed inhaled medicine. Spirometry can help assess conditions that narrow or obstruct the airways, including asthma and COPD. It does not by itself explain every cause of shortness of breath or cough.

Follow the appointment instructions closely. Tell the clinic about inhalers or other breathing medicines, because you may be asked to change when you take them before testing. Wear clothing that does not restrict a deep breath, and explain if you feel dizzy, have chest discomfort, or find forceful blowing difficult. The clinician can pause the test and guide you through each effort.

Afterwards, ask what the pattern means for you and whether another measurement, treatment trial, or follow-up is planned. If smoking is affecting your breathing, discuss practical support for stopping as part of the wider plan.

Do not wait for a routine breathing test if you have severe or rapidly worsening breathlessness, struggle to speak in full sentences because of breathing, develop blue or grey lips, faint, or have chest pain. Seek urgent medical help. Contact a clinician promptly for a new persistent cough, repeated wheezing, or breathlessness that is getting in the way of usual activity.

Ask whether you should alter any inhaler before the test, whether your effort was adequate for interpretation, and what the result suggests when combined with your symptoms. You can also ask whether you need a repeat test, a referral, or a plan for monitoring changes in your breathing.