Everyday in our country approximately 30,000 people have an asthma attack, often times catching them by surprise. It's called a peak flow meter ---and it measures how well your lungs are able to expel air. Learning how to use this simple allows you to monitor your asthma and head off attacks before they occur.

Kurt Goerke, Regional Director of the American Lung Association, says, "A kid could get up every morning blow into this thing and say" okay here 200" they do this for a week and I figure out on the days where I'm feeling good, I picked 200."

Then one morning they get up and they blow a hundred instead..that's considered a drop in normal peak expiratory flow or P-E-F. Even before you feel symptoms, this drop is detecting that the airway is starting to narrow. "You're going to use broncho dilators, you're going to use medications to help improve airway, air movement," says physician Stephen Zellner.

It may seem like a simple device but for the first time many children and adults get the feeling that they finally have control over this disease. Kurt adds that educating patients on coping with their disease can do amazing things to the way they care for themselves.

Peak flow meters can be used by anyone, including children ages 5 and older. Peak flow meters no longer require a prescription although, while John was doing this story he found that some pharmacists were unaware that a prescription IS NOT required.