Prepare for your asthma review: what the GP or asthma nurse checks, what to bring, peak flow and your action plan

An asthma review is a structured check-up where your GP or asthma nurse looks at how well your treatment is working. You can walk in with a clear picture instead of trying to remember months at once. Keep your reliever use, attacks and nights woken on paper or in the asthma diary in Sam, and your inhalers and written plan within reach. Sleep and respiratory rate from Apple Health sit in the same app, a few taps from your entries.

This text is general information, not medical or legal advice. It describes what an asthma review commonly involves in the UK, with peak flow technique also from the American Lung Association. In the US, ask your doctor how often follow-up visits are due and what they cover. Your care team decides what applies to you. If you have questions about your own asthma, ask your GP or asthma nurse, or call the Asthma + Lung UK helpline in the UK; in the US, ask your healthcare provider.

What an asthma review checks

The NHS says you should have a check-up at least once a year. It will include checking that you are using your inhalers correctly and that your asthma action plan is up to date. Your care team also looks at how often you have symptoms and whether your treatment works. Ask whether a lung function test is due.

The GINA questions used to rate asthma control look back over the last four weeks. They ask about daytime symptoms, how often you wake at night, how often you need your reliever, and whether asthma limits your activities. That window is why a short, honest record beats a long memory.

How often do you have a review?

There is no single rhythm that fits everyone. The NHS says most people with asthma should have a check-up at least once a year. Some people need more frequent reviews, especially when treatment changes or control is poor. Ask at the end of the appointment when the next one is due, and add it to your calendar. Do not wait months if symptoms get worse.

The peak flow diary: what to record

A peak flow meter is a small handheld device that measures how fast you can blow air out. It is a tool for monitoring, not a diagnosis on its own. Asthma + Lung UK says to use the same meter each time, because different meters can give slightly different scores.

To take a reading: blow as hard and fast as you can, rest, and repeat so you have three scores. Use the highest for your diary. Measure at about the same times each day, usually in the morning and evening, and use your best effort every time. Clean and replace the meter as the instructions say, because it can become less accurate with use.

Record the date, the time, and the highest value. Your personal best is the score that is normal for you when you are well. Asthma + Lung UK says you may need to keep a diary for at least two weeks to establish it. Your care team sets the zones on your action plan from that number. Bring the diary to the review. What the numbers mean for your treatment is for your doctor or nurse to say.

Reliever use and nights waking

Two numbers matter most at a review: how many days you used your reliever, and how many nights asthma woke you. The GINA control questions cover both over four weeks. Asthma + Lung UK says that needing your reliever three or more times a week raises your risk of an attack and that you should contact your GP for a review. Peak flow alone should not be relied on, so bring both records. GINA uses a different yardstick, more than twice a week over four weeks, as one of its control questions.

Write each reliever use on the day, with the date and number of puffs. Note whether it helped and what came before, such as pollen, cold air or a cold. Separately, mark the nights you woke. At the end of each week, count both. As a reminder of what good, partly and not controlled look like, see asthma not well controlled? What that means.

Unplanned care since the last review

Your care team wants to know about anything that broke through your normal pattern: a same-day GP visit, urgent care, a course of steroid tablets, or a hospital stay. Record the date, what happened, and what was done. You can note this on paper or in Sam as an attack entry. After months, nobody recalls these clearly. A written list turns them into facts you can hand over.

Inhalers: bring them and your technique

Medical staff check inhaler technique at reviews, because technique decides how much medicine reaches your lungs. The NHS says a doctor, nurse or pharmacist will show you how to use your inhaler. Bring every device you use, including a spacer, so technique can be checked with the real thing in your hand.

Packing them also shows you what is nearly empty. Ask about repeat prescriptions before you run out, and have a working reliever with you at all times, as the NHS advises. If you want your daily preventer plan in one place, keep it in the medication list in Sam.

The written asthma action plan

An asthma action plan is a written guide you agree with your doctor or nurse. It covers what you take every day, what to do when symptoms get worse, and what to do in an emergency. The NHS says you will need to take it to all your asthma appointments so it stays up to date. If you do not have one, ask for it at the review.

A plan is personal. Another person's plan does not apply to you. Bring yours, check whether it still lists your current medicines, and let the team refresh the parts that changed.

What to bring and what to ask

A few days before the review, gather your things:

• Your record: reliever days, nights woken, attacks and unplanned care.
• Your peak flow diary, if you keep one.
• All your inhalers and a spacer.
• Your written asthma action plan.
• Your repeat prescription list and any new medicines.
• Two or three questions you want answered.

Then ask what you cannot see in a form: whether your technique is right, whether your prescriptions are up to date, when to come back, and what to do if your reliever stops helping. For the questions to take about a new diagnosis, see asthma diagnosis: what now.

Take your asthma record to the review in Sam

You sit down with a number for reliever days, nights woken and attacks, instead of estimating in the waiting room. In the asthma program you keep those entries and can show them as a doctor report (PDF).

• Instead of paper: reliever uses with puffs, attacks and night waking go in a few taps, each with a date.
• Instead of a separate notes app: every entry sits in the same diary, so nothing is scattered.
• Instead of counting by hand: the record adds the days and nights for you before the appointment.
• Instead of Apple Health alone: sleep and respiratory rate appear in the same app, next to what you entered.

Peak flow values are not entered in Sam. Sam supports the review, it does not replace it.

Try Sam for free

Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. The app does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or health state. Always consult qualified professionals for medical decisions.

Related reading

• Asthma not well controlled? What that means
• What do I record in the first four weeks after diagnosis
• Buying a peak flow meter for asthma
• Respiratory rate, sleep and asthma

Sources

Updated: October 2026

• NHS: Asthma - treatment, reviews and living with asthma (page last reviewed 7 April 2025)
• Asthma + Lung UK: Peak flow test (published 22 February 2023)
• Asthma + Lung UK: Peak flow variability calculator and diary guidance (last reviewed 13 April 2026)
• American Lung Association: Measuring your peak flow rate
• Global Initiative for Asthma: 2026 GINA Summary Guide (assessment of asthma control)
• Asthma + Lung UK: Changes to inhaler prescriptions and what they might mean
• Asthma + Lung UK: Completing an asthma action plan with your patients