Bronchiectasis is usually caused by long-term lung infections. Cystic fibrosis, severe pneumonia, whooping cough, tuberculosis and fungal lung infections can all cause bronchiectasis. The most common symptom of bronchiectasisis is an ongoing cough with sputum.
Though it is most often linked to cystic fibrosis, many other conditions can trigger bronchiectasis such as: Autoimmune disease. Immunodeficiency disorders, such as HIV or diabetes. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency which can cause COPD in some people.
Avoid Lung Irritants
Where possible, avoid being in environments with secondhand smoke, pollution, chemical fumes, dust particles and other substances which may be harmful to lungs.
Bronchiectasis can affect just one section of one of your lungs or many sections of both lungs. It can lead to serious health problems, such as respiratory failure, a collapsed lung, and heart failure. Currently, bronchiectasis has no cure.
Bronchiectasis complications include pneumonia, lung abscess, empyema, septicemia, cor pulmonale, respiratory failure, secondary amyloidosis with nephrotic syndrome, and recurrent pleurisy.
A diagnosis of bronchiectasis should be suspected when a patient presents with a recurrent or persistent (>8 weeks) cough with production of purulent or mucopurulent sputum.
If properly treated and monitored, most people with bronchiectasis have a normal life expectancy. People with bronchiectasis are more likely to die because of other medical conditions that affect all people (like heart disease or cancer) than to die directly from bronchiectasis.
Your doctor may prescribe expectorants and mucus thinners to help you cough up mucus. Expectorants help loosen the mucus in your lungs. They often are combined with decongestants, which may provide extra relief. Mucus thinners, such as acetylcysteine, loosen the mucus to make it easier to cough up.
The damage caused to the lungs by bronchiectasis is permanent, but treatment can help relieve your symptoms and stop the damage getting worse. The main treatments include: exercises and special devices to help you clear mucus out of your lungs. medication to help improve airflow within the lungs.
Stay hydrated always
Drinking plenty of water will not help keep you hydrated, but also assisting in thinning the mucus for easier removal. Drink around 6 to 8 glasses of water daily and spread over the entire day.
Having fatigue doesn't mean you have very severe bronchiectasis - it can be a symptom across all stages. People who have bronchiectasis often say that fatigue can be worse when they feel an exacerbation or infection coming on. If you have recognised this, you may have found that this is an early warning sign for you.
Any form of exercise that makes you a little breathless, such as walking and swimming is extremely beneficial for people with bronchiectasis. It may help you to clear your chest and will improve your overall fitness. Staying or getting fit will help you build resistance to infections.
Symptoms of bronchiectasis can take months or years to develop, and gradually become worse. The two primary symptoms are a cough and daily production of mucus (sputum). Other symptoms typically include: Coughing up yellow or green mucus daily.
These include tobramycin, colistin, gentamicin, aztreonam, and vancomycin. Expert opinion, early-phase studies, and even some phase III trials suggest that these agents result in significant improvement in QoL and reduce frequency of exacerbations in some patients with bronchiectasis 22, 23.
Summer heatwaves and hot weather can affect anyone. But if you have a long-term lung condition like asthma, bronchiectasis or COPD, you're more at risk of the heat affecting you. And hot weather can cause your symptoms to flare up too. This could be because you're dehydrated and too hot, making you feel worse.
Albuterol, also known as salbutamol, is used to prevent and treat shortness of breath, breathing difficulties, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness caused by lung diseases such as bronchiectasis.
Sleeping. Lie on your side with a pillow between your legs and your head elevated with pillows.
If supplemental oxygen is used, it is appropriate to maintain a saturation of >92%.
Bronchiectasis and Caffeine
“Significantly high levels of caffeine intake may contribute to dehydration by stimulating the body to release more liquid than usual” [11]. In a previous article, we discussed the importance of staying hydrated when you're living with a chronic lung condition like COPD or bronchiectasis.
Increasing age is recognized as an independent risk factor for bronchiectasis severity.
Association between Bronchiectasis and Lung Cancer Development. The incidence of lung cancer in participants with bronchiectasis was significantly higher than that in those without bronchiectasis (2.1/1,000 person-years vs.
Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the airways are dilated with increased sputum production, recurrent exacerbations and impaired quality of life. The estimated prevalence of bronchiectasis is at least 1470/100,000 in central Australian Aboriginal children.
Hallmarks of severe bronchiectasis include fetid breath, chronic cough, and sputum production. The associated chronic respiratory infections and airway sepsis are punctuated by episodes of acute exacerbation.
Reid categorized bronchiectasis as having three main phenotypes: 1) tubular characterized by smooth dilation of the bronchi; 2) varicose in which the bronchi are dilated with multiple indentations; and 3) cystic in which dilated bronchi terminate in blind ending sacs.