My asthma is characterised by build up of phlegm and mucus in the lungs and airways. This causes bouts of coughing and gets worse if i am doing exercise. I have been using a fostair inhaler for a couple of years combined with nasal sprays/nasal rinse. My doctor prescribed antihistamine but this had little effect. I have a reliever inhaler but try not to use it. The symptoms are gradually getting worse. Are there any suggestions as to what i could try? Also, has anyone used a "lung clearing" device called Air Physio.
Many thanks
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vagabonds59
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I don't know much about airway clearance but you do need to use your reliever if symptomatic with asthma - and let your GP know if you're needing it more than 3 times a week as they need to look at your preventer meds if that's the case. There are various other preventer add-ons which could be trialled (they'll take 6-12 weeks to see full effect so take a bit of perseverance but some do seem effective with mucous.
This post looks at some of them - it's completely personal which work for different people and in what way though so can take the and perseverance to find the key. Also mucous can be caused by other things so, if it's not asthma causing it, then the asthma meds may not help (for example a lot of mucous caused by allergies is the allergies so that's what needs dealing with - then the knock on asthma symptoms will be less or not there because the root cause has been sorted; similarly if it's reflux causing the mucous then the same would apply)healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...
Thanks for your reply yes I think my asthma is quite allergy related am in pretty much every nasal spray, montelukast, fexofenadine, fostair 200/6 xx all have helped but I still get lots of mucous x cutting down on dairy products seems to help as well
I get a lot of mucus too and know how much of a nightmare it is. I've tried quite a few different things to help:Huffing - like a way of bringing mucus up that's not coughing, think there are resources around on this. All the coughing kills my ribs and chest so it's supposed to be better, although depends on how thick the mucus is.
Hot drinks - this is super helpful always even if just to delay the cough!
Sometimes I can feel something needs to be brought up so I might massage or tap my chezt/back to encourage as well as humming or singing. Equally, ventolin is super useful to open the chest up and make it easier to clear, so I would really suggest using it if you need it.
Ask your doctor if there are other antihistamines or nasal sprays as this may help.
From what I know of any sort of lung device they're generally not recommended for people with lung conditions, so definitely check with you doctor.
I know this sounds crazy simple; but have you tried cetrizine? It’s an over-the-counter allergy pill , I think it’s Zyrtec. I was drowning in mucus to the point where I thought maybe I was on my way out of this world. I started taking cetrizine in the evening just on a hunch that my bronchi and lungs were in constant inflammation from allergies. Miracle? All has calmed down.
I take it every day. It’s an allergy medicine. They sell it at the dollar store Tthe brand name is Zyrtec. There is another allergy medicine you want to avoid; basically Benadryl. It’s called diphenhydramine. That will give you some cognitive problems in the long term.
Hi , I tried Montelukas after reading about it on here , I didn’t like it at first as it can have some side effects so I started with a quarter a day and worked up . I find it great as it when taken with Fexofenadine I could breathe and feel the air going into my lungs as I walked the lanes where I live. Try it nothing to lose , good luck, experiment 👍🏻
I have the air physio gadget thing, it's very expensive for the quality of product that turns up and didn't work for me anyway.+1 for Montelukas and carbocistrine which helps you cough the Mucus up and out.
I was taught autogenic drainage by the lung physios at the hospital. You could ask about that. But to be honest I prefer the flutter device I bought myself - the Air Physio you mention. I actually use a combination of both.
My husband has the same problem and the doctor has changed his inhalers. He is now on Symbicord and spriva. Which has he quite a lot still coughing and still mucus in the mornings but so much better. Hope this helps.
Morning. There is a medication called carbocisteine that is an mucolytic. It reduces the viscosity of mucus to help make it easier to clear it from the lungs. Might be worth mentioning it to your GP/consultant.
There are other lung conditions that typically have mucus as an issue, eg bronchiectasis. Might be worth just asking about too.
I'm on allergy medication (antihistamines (including a H2 blocker Famotidine), nasal spray, etc.), sinus rinse, Montelukast, etc. so my GP put me on Carbocisteine to help with my mucus difficulties, maybe you might benefit from it too?
This has been a big problem for me also. I've been trying to use a nasal wash daily and take mucinex (drink at least 8 oz of water when you take it) to thin the mucous.
I suffer from lots of mucus too. Montelukast has helped though not completely. Worth a try though you may need to persevere as I didn’t like the side effects at first but they soon settled down. You’ll know quite quickly if this helps so can then take the decision whether to continue or not.
Hi off the record I have just purchased a physio air and I find this very good for clearing mucous from my lungs it’s not a cure but over time should strengthen lungs too I recommend a try do google it lot of people swear by it hope this helps
Love the Air Physio. It clears out the lower lung for me, so gives me more breathing room. It won’t always bring up phlegm but it still helps me. Good luck!
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