Bronchiectasis
Overview
Bronchiectasis is a condition where the airways in your lungs are damaged and produce a lot of phlegm (mucus). It cannot usually be cured, but treatment can help manage it.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of bronchiectasis are: a cough that does not go awaycoughing up a lot of phlegm (mucus) – the phlegm may be clear, white, yellow or greengetting frequent chest infections, where your symptoms get worse for a few days or weeks and you may feel generally unwell Other symptoms can include: wheezingshortness of breathnoises when you breathe, such as crackling in your lungs, snoring sounds or high-pitched squeaksfeeling very tiredcoughing up bloodchest pain Symptoms such as acoughor coughing up phlegm are common and can be caused by other conditions such aschest infections.
Causes
Bronchiectasis happens when your airways are damaged by inflammation. They become wider than usual, and this causes phlegm (mucus) to build up. Too much phlegm can lead to chest infections. There are many possible causes of damage to your airways, including: a severe infection such aspneumonia,tuberculosis (TB),measles,whooping coughorCOVID-19another condition that affects your lungs such asasthmaorchronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)breathing in something that damages your lungsa problem with your immune systemconditions such asrheumatoid arthritisinflammatory bowel disease such asulcerative colitisorCrohn's disease For many people it's not clear what the cause is.
Treatment
Bronchiectasis cannot usually be cured. The aim of treatment is to manage your symptoms and help stop them getting worse. You'll be supported by a GP, nurse, physiotherapist, and sometimes a specialist doctor. You'll have check-ups and tests at least once a year. Your care team will work with you to develop a plan to help you manage your condition. You may also need treatment for any conditions that have caused bronchiectasis. You'll see a specialist physiotherapist, who will teach you breathing techniques for clearing phlegm (mucus) from your lungs and airways. They may also recommend a hand-held device you breathe into that uses vibrations to help clear your chest. You'll usually need to do these exercises every day. This helps to control your cough and reduce the risk of chest infections. If your phlegm is difficult to cough up, your care team may recommend using a machine called a nebuliser to breathe in a salt solution before doing the exercises. If you have problems with shortness of breath you may also be offered a course led by a physiotherapist, called pulmonary rehabilitation. This will include exercise classes and advice on managing your condition. You'll usually be asked to give your doctor a sample of phlegm when you're unwell or if your symptoms change. The sample will be checked for a chest infection, and if you have one you'll need to takeantibiotics. You may be given antibiotics to keep at home (a rescue pack) for when you get symptoms of a chest infection. Your care team will give you instructions on when to take them. If you get more than 3 chest infections a year, a specialist may recommend you take antibiotics long term to help prevent them. You may also be offered other medicines, such as inhalers to help your breathing. If you have severe symptoms and medicines have not helped, you may be offered other treatments such as: breathing in oxygen through a mask or tube (oxygen therapy)surgery to treat damage to your lungsa lung transplant