Free printable
A flare log that fits on one page.
Last checked: 24 September 2026
A flare is the worst time to start keeping records and the best time to have them. This sheet keeps it to one line a day, because anything longer does not get filled in on the days that matter most.
The date it eased is the part almost everyone forgets, and it is the part that turns a list of bad days into something you can describe.
There is no sign-up, no email address to hand over and nothing to download. Open this page, press Ctrl and P, or Command and P on a Mac, and only the sheet below goes on the paper. Everything else, including this paragraph, is left off it.
How to use it
- Write the start date as soon as you notice, even if you are not sure yet
- One line a day is plenty, and a blank day is still a record
- Note what the day stopped you doing, not only how it felt
- Write the end date on the day it lifts, while you still remember
Flare log
Started Ended
| Date | Better, same or worse | What it stopped me doing | What I tried | Anything else worth noting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
How it started, and anything that was going on around then
Anything that made a day more bearable
My own account of a flare. Not a medical record, and not a claim that anything caused it.
Questions people ask
What should I write down during a flare?
The start date, what it stopped you doing, and what you tried. Then one line a day if you can, and the date it eased. That is enough to describe it accurately months later.
Does it matter if I miss days?
No. Gaps are part of an honest record, and any summary worth trusting counts the days nobody wrote anything rather than pretending they went well.
Will this show what triggered the flare?
It can show what was happening around the same time, which is worth noticing and worth mentioning. It cannot show cause, and things that happen together are often coincidence.
More sheets, and where to go next
- Printable question sheet for a GP appointment
- Printable symptom summary for a doctor
- Printable symptom diary
- How to prepare for a GP appointment
- What to include in a symptom summary for your doctor
If you would rather not write it by hand
taluvu is a chronic illness tracker app for iPhone that keeps the same kind of record in about a minute a day, and turns it into a summary you can take to an appointment. The sheet above works perfectly well on its own.
Taluvu Chronic Illness Tracker
TALUVU LTD · Health and Fitness · iPhone
Free to download, with a Taluvu Pro subscription inside
Nothing on this page is medical advice. If you are worried about your health, contact your GP practice or NHS 111. In an emergency ring 999, and if you are struggling to keep yourself safe, Samaritans are on 116 123. How we write these pages.