Breathing

Dear Jayne

that is rather harder to answer than it seems. You really need your GP to give you a definitive diagnosis. That said, you might have a temperature, your chest might feel tighter than normal, you might hear unfamiliar sounds when you breathe, you may have more difficulty breathing than usual, you might be coughing more than usual and the sputum might have an unfamiliar coloured  tinge. You may also feel more unwell than normal. By you asking the question, it suggests that you think something is different. That is the time yo see your GP and to get treatment quickly if it is needed. 

hi jayne it is difficult to recognise an infection even the colour is not always reliable if i feel i might have one i take my temperature  if it is raised its probable there is an infection there

difficult with more mucus and coughing a lot more

Hi Jayne.  My breathing seems shallower usually when I have an infection but my real indicators are feeling really unwell; very tired, high temperature, thick green mucous.  I think raised temperature is a good indicator.  Hope this helps.

 

Sometimes I find my breathing is a little more shallow but apart from the mucus thickening my real symptoms are tiredness and aching joints. So it seems it's different for everyone. My consultant recommends that I take antibiotics for 14 days.

I too get pains in my lungs. Once again my consultant told me this is commonplace for bronchiectasis patients but it is not really known why.

I know how your feeling Jane, I get daily pains in my chest & back & I don't know if it's due to a infection starting or not. We're both still learning the signs so it's a learning curve for us & others who have just been diagnosed. I told the nurse at my doctors about my symptoms & she is going to rever me to the physiotherapy department after my knee op on Monday. She thinks I might benefit from some breathing techniques to reduce the pains & help the lungs work a bit better, worth a try. Had my pre op on Wednesday last week & had the usual tests including a blood test & a breathing test, my breathing test results were ok even tho I did struggle but my bloods showed my potassium was raised so have had them re done. Once I told them I had bronchiectasis in both lungs they were brilliant & understood everything I told them, that was reassuring. Anyway enough about boring old me lol, make sure you see your GP or get intouch with the hospital respiratory  clinic & try to get seen & get some answers. Good luck Jane & keep smiling :0)