Patient Resources

Free patient guides from a lungs specialist in Coimbatore.

Printable, evidence-based action plans you can keep on the fridge — for asthma, COPD flare-ups, sleep studies and lung function tests (PFT). Written and used every day at Lung Care — The Pulmonary Clinic, R.S. Puram.

Read the guide: when to see a lung specialist

How to use these guides

An action plan is not a substitute for a consultation — it is what turns a consultation into something you can actually follow at home, at 2 a.m., when symptoms change and you have to decide whether to increase your inhaler, start standby medicines, or head to hospital. In pulmonology, most avoidable emergencies happen not because the diagnosis was wrong, but because nobody had written down what to do on a bad day.

Each guide below is printable on a single page. Print two copies: one for your fridge or bedside drawer, and one for whoever else in the family would help you in an emergency. Bring your copy to every review visit so we can update the doses as your treatment changes. If you use inhalers, write the brand names on the printout — reliever and controller inhalers look confusingly similar, and mixing them up is one of the commonest reasons a flare-up gets out of hand.

These plans are generic templates based on standard respiratory guidance. Doses, standby antibiotics and steroid courses must be personalised. If you are a patient at the clinic, ask us to fill in your specific numbers — peak flow zones, inhaler doses, and the oxygen saturation below which you should not wait at home.

Asthma Action Plan

A simple traffic-light plan to follow at home — green when you're well, yellow when symptoms start, red when it's an emergency.

GREEN — Doing well

No cough, wheeze or breathlessness, day or night
Can do usual activities including exercise
Take your controller inhaler every day as prescribed

YELLOW — Caution

Some cough, wheeze, chest tightness or breathlessness
Waking at night with symptoms
Take 2 puffs of your reliever inhaler every 4 hours
Continue your controller — do not stop it
If symptoms persist beyond 24 hours, contact the clinic

RED — Get help now

Reliever inhaler not working or needed every 1–2 hours
Too breathless to speak in full sentences
Lips or fingertips turning bluish
Take 6 puffs of reliever (1 puff every 30 seconds, via spacer) and go to the nearest A&E
Call +91 82203 33209 on the way

Sleep Study Preparation Checklist

Everything you need to know before your overnight polysomnography or home sleep test.

The day before

Avoid caffeine after 2 PM (tea, coffee, cola, dark chocolate)
No alcohol for 24 hours before the test
No daytime nap — arrive sleepy
Wash your hair — do not apply oil, gel or conditioner

What to bring

Loose, comfortable nightwear (button-front shirt preferred)
Your usual toiletries and a change of clothes for the morning
All current medications in original packs
Previous sleep reports, ECG or echo reports, if any

On the night

Arrive by 8:30 PM for in-clinic studies
Light dinner — avoid heavy or spicy food
Continue routine medications unless told otherwise
Sensors are painless and can be detached for the bathroom

COPD Flare-up Action Checklist

A clear plan for the first 24 hours of a COPD exacerbation.

Early warning signs (start the plan)

More breathlessness than usual on stairs
More cough or change in sputum colour (yellow/green/brown)
Increased sputum volume
More reliever inhaler use than usual

First 24 hours

Increase reliever inhaler to 4 puffs every 4–6 hours via spacer
Continue controller inhalers as usual
Start the standby antibiotic course if prescribed by your doctor
Start the standby oral steroid (prednisolone) if prescribed
Stay warm, hydrated and rested

Get help immediately if

Lips or fingertips turn bluish
Too breathless to walk a few steps or speak in sentences
Drowsy, confused or chest pain
Fever above 38.5°C with shaking chills
Call +91 82203 33209 or go to the nearest A&E

Lung Function Test (PFT) Preparation Guide

How to prepare for spirometry and full pulmonary function testing so the numbers reflect your true lung capacity.

Before you come

Do not take your reliever inhaler for 6 hours before the test, unless you are breathless
Long-acting inhalers: skip the morning dose only if the clinic has told you to
No smoking for at least 1 hour (ideally 24 hours) before the test
Avoid a heavy meal in the 2 hours before your slot
Avoid strenuous exercise on the morning of the test

What to wear and bring

Loose clothing — tight waistbands and saris pinned tightly restrict full breaths
All your inhalers and medication packs
Previous PFT, chest X-ray or CT reports if you have them
Your spectacles if you need them to read the on-screen coaching

What happens during the test

You breathe into a mouthpiece while a technician coaches each manoeuvre
Three or more acceptable blows are needed for a reliable result
A bronchodilator may be given, followed by a repeat test after 15 minutes
Total time is 30–45 minutes; the report is handed over the same day
Tell the technician if you have had recent eye, chest or abdominal surgery, or a heart attack in the last month

Understanding the tests these plans refer to

Lung function test (spirometry / PFT)

A lung function test measures how much air you can move and how fast you can move it. Spirometry gives two headline numbers — FEV1 (the volume blown out in the first second) and FVC (the total volume) — and their ratio. A reduced ratio that improves after a bronchodilator points to asthma; one that stays reduced points to COPD. Full pulmonary function testing adds lung volumes and gas transfer (DLCO), which matter in interstitial lung disease and before lung surgery. Forced oscillation technique (FOT) needs only quiet breathing, which makes it useful for children and for anyone who cannot perform a forced blow. See how lung function testing is done at the clinic.

Sleep study (polysomnography)

A sleep study records breathing, airflow, oxygen saturation, heart rhythm, brain waves and limb movement through the night. The key output is the apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI) — the number of breathing pauses per hour of sleep — which grades obstructive sleep apnoea and guides whether CPAP is needed. Home sleep tests are adequate for many straightforward cases; attended in-lab studies are better when insomnia, heart failure or neurological disease complicate the picture. Read the full obstructive sleep apnoea guide.

Chest imaging and allergy testing

A chest X-ray remains the first-line image for a persistent cough, fever or breathlessness; a CT scan is reserved for nodules, suspected bronchiectasis, interstitial disease or when the X-ray does not explain the symptoms. Allergy screening — skin prick tests or specific IgE — helps when asthma or rhinitis is clearly trigger-driven, because avoiding a confirmed trigger often does more than adding another medicine.

Inhaler technique — the five steps most people get wrong

Shake the metered dose inhaler and remove the cap — check the dose counter before you start.
Breathe out gently and fully, away from the mouthpiece, so there is room for the next breath in.
Seal your lips around the mouthpiece (or spacer) and start a slow, deep breath in as you press once.
Keep breathing in slowly for 4–5 seconds, then hold your breath for up to 10 seconds.
Wait 30 seconds before the second puff, and rinse your mouth after any steroid-containing inhaler to prevent oral thrush and hoarseness.

A spacer is not a sign that your asthma is severe — it improves delivery to the small airways for almost everyone, and it is the single cheapest upgrade to your treatment. Dry powder inhalers need the opposite technique: a fast, forceful breath in rather than a slow one. Ask us to check your technique at every visit; roughly half of patients drift into a mistake within a few months of starting a new device.

When to stop self-managing and call the clinic

Home plans cover the predictable part of respiratory illness. Call +91 82203 33209 — or attend the nearest emergency department — if you are using your reliever more often than every two hours, if your oxygen saturation on a home pulse oximeter is persistently below 92%, if you cannot complete a sentence, if you are coughing blood, or if you feel drowsy or confused. In children, watch for the chest and neck muscles pulling in with each breath, refusal to feed, or a suddenly quiet child who was noisy a few minutes earlier.

For everything less urgent — a plan that no longer seems to work, side effects, a new report to interpret, or a second opinion from outside Coimbatore — a consultation or a video consultation is the right next step. Patients in Coimbatore searching for a lungs specialist, a pulmonology clinic, or in Tamil, நுரையீரல் சிறப்பு மருத்துவர், are welcome to book directly; no referral letter is needed.