questions about bronciectasis treatments

Hi Cuddles (love the name)

My consultant told me when I start to feel unwell, wait 24 hours to see if any of the symptoms get worse or if I don't feel any better after the wait, then start my antibiotics. On the whole, this has worked for me.

I, like you, have found this site such a comfort.

I always wait cuddles... Ooh that feels a bit cheeky! Anyway I always wait. Sometimes it's a false alarm and in any case if you get a sputum culture it will be the right antibiotics prescribed rather than a guess. If you feel ill or have a temperature that's different of course and your GP can advise you.

Have a good year and don't let the bronchiectasis get the better of you!

Hi there

Personally I would start to take anti biotics if your not feeling well. I have sent a sample off and it's come back showing no infection so I've sent another one within days and it came back showing 2 bugs so lab results are not always accurate.

Unless your constantly on the same drugs 24/7 for months your unlikely to become resistant but sometimes one drug can do a good job then not so effective.

Key thing is to keep clearing the muck as often as possible

Hope this helps

Happy new year 🎉🎆😆

There are two things to bear in mind here. 

Firstly, is it a virus or bacterium. No point taking antibis for virus. Hence usual idea is wait 3 days before giving in sputum / taking antibis. To be honest I usually can feel the difference anyway but it's good practice to make sure and 3-5 days is ample to tell - basically are you getting better or not.

If you are still bad after 3 days then best practice is hand in sample and then start rescue antibis immediately. If you have frequent fliers (h inf, moraxella  for me) then start taking something that is good for that (co-amoxiclav for me) until  results with sensitivities comes back. Then adjust if necessary.

So it's the same principle really. In her idea, you wait to see if you're infected with virus or bacteria while waiting for sputum sample then start the antibis. In mine you wait till you're fairly certain it's not a virus, then get sample.

The reason I think the latter way is best (and third is the second point) is that a sputum sample test will only pick up bacterial infection 80% of the time anyway and can often miss multiple bugs. My consultant told me that when he was training he took a sputum sample and made 5 different test samples of it. He had two empty samples and then three different bugs!

Hence I decide if it's viral or bacteria and then start antibis on assumption it's one of my frequent fliers and only change antibiotics if the sample explicitly indicates I should. I may of course get a blank result back on the sample but I still finish my course since 20% of the time a negative result is simply wrong.

Indeed, sometimes you end up taking your antibiotic, then finding you're immediately unwell again after finishing the course. In that case most likely you had a bug immune to your rescue antibiotic that wasn't picked up. It happens.

Hope that helps and Happy New Year

Sam

Hi I have recently started on a salt nebuliser which is supposed to irritate the lungs to help you cough it up. Will see how it goes .

Hiya, Been redimg all the replies good stuff I have been using the Sodium Cholride ( 7.5ml ) salt treatment now for a year really does help to get the stuff out,I follow that with 0.83% Albuterol do that 3 times a day,then to help sleep I do 2 puff Symbicort Inhaler after I clear as my GP says got to remove the stuff so as not to get infected,if I do see a change I run to get Amoxicillin, as we all know this such a pain tomdeal with but 'IT IS WHAT IT IS " so we deal with it.

Best regards,

Charlie