Using a spirometer after pneumonia

Pneumonia can make breathing painful or tiring, so people may take smaller breaths while recovering. An incentive spirometer provides a visual goal for breathing in slowly. This can help you practise opening the lungs and notice whether a deep breath triggers coughing or discomfort. It does not clear an infection, remove mucus by itself, or show whether antibiotics are working.

Recovery can be uneven. Tiredness and a cough may linger, but new or worsening breathing difficulty should not be explained away as normal recovery. Your clinician may adjust the plan according to your examination, oxygen level, other illnesses, and the severity of the infection.

Use the device only as instructed. Sit upright, breathe out normally, close your lips around the mouthpiece, and inhale slowly enough to raise the marker without strain. Hold the breath briefly only if advised, then exhale and rest. Coughing gently after a few breaths may help bring up mucus, but repeated forceful efforts can exhaust you. Keep taking prescribed medicines and attend planned reviews. Clean and store the device as directed.

Get urgent help if you are struggling to speak because of breathlessness, become confused or faint, develop blue or grey lips, or have severe chest pain. Contact a clinician promptly for returning fever, worsening cough, increasing breathlessness, coughing blood, or inability to drink. A healthcare professional can review whether a [Spirometer](/technology/spirometer/) is suitable and whether [Spirometry](/treatments/diagnostics-and-screening/spirometry/) should wait until recovery.

Ask how often to use the device, whether coughing during the exercise is expected, how to combine it with walking or breathing exercises, and when your symptoms should be reassessed.