has anyone else had conflicting responses from health professionals, with regard to when you can tell you have / are starting with a chest infection ?
I have been guided this past 3-4yrs by the change in mucus/sputum production and colour ie: changing to greeny/yellowy lumps etc. now told this isn't the case ??
Confused.
Any comments please.
I have bronchiectasis as well as COPD so my sputum can change colour daily so its impossible for me to go by that alone....Its not always easy to tell if an infection is starting thats why its so important to get a sample in asap
Hi yes we were told the same " if your mucus changes in colour start your antibiotics." So not the case as we found out in June. Hubby ended up with pneumonia and sepsis with no change in mucus colour at all. He stubbornly refused to take his rescue pack because his mucus hadn't changed. Anyway now we're told to look out for an increase in mucus not just a change in colour. I will now ring the matron as soon as he gets any bug just to be safe. Good luck hope this helps. It's a bit of a minefield eh?
I know when I'm coming down with a chest infection my chest feels really tight I think we know our own body best and I start antibiotics first give it a few days then start the evil steroids. I was told by the physiotherapist this was the best way as many people can become dependent on them
I think you're quite right onamission in that after years of becoming infected with even just the common cold,we do know our own bodies. Mine tells me by change of colour in my mucus and I'm then straight for the rescue AB's and pred's maybe a day or two after if it seems like a nasty little blighter!
quite agree but I have seen one person on hear say I can do anything with a chest infection. This is not good for people who have been newly diagnosed because it gives the impression that getting a chest infection is no big thing, when the reality is our lungs never fully recover from a infection.
I have had lots of tips of information off this site so glad I found it 😊
You are both right no one knows our body's better than our selves. And also everyone is different I was told that no 2 people with COPD are the same. I know when I am coming down with an infection. Only last week I started to get really breathless I couldn't speak with out getting breathless. And my ankles were really swollen I had an appointment with my nurse for my usual blood test and she maid me see my GP that same day my blood pressure was 230/75 and my GP sent me to the hospital and I was admitted and was in for 3 days. They said it was a exacerbation of COPD without an infection. The last time I had ever been that breatheless was when I did have an infection. My o2 was in between 94 and 91 never went under 91. Back home now and blood pressure still a bit high but not drastic. Could have something to do with tablets I take for my arthritis they can raise your BP so waiting to hear from rheumy consultant to see if I have to come off them. And I kept telling them it was not an infection but the never listen.
I hope your feeling well now, we are coming to the winter we have to take care and look after ourselves
Yes I am feeling a lot better thank you for asking. I am quit lucky I am looked after by the community resp team for my COPD. And I phone them if I answer yes to 2 questions on a form they gave me. I also have rescue medication in the house. It's a pity that everyone can not have the same treatment. Take care.
you have a good support system I have a good GP who are open 8am till 8pm 7 days a week and Christmas and bank holidays
they do say go by the colour change , with me they said to start when I start bring up mucus as I don't normally bring much up , also I find I get a funny taste when I get an infection , but then I has seen two or three different gp when I had an infection and they said they didn't know if I had an infection or not but said seeing as I had copd they wouldn't chance it and gave me steroids and antibiotics to be on the safe side ,
you need a good understanding gp when you have COPD I always find I get a lot of discomfort in my left side and even when the infection has cleared up I get a dull ache in the left side
im lucky don't really get much pain from the copd apart from where I had the lung reduction done , or if I cough a lot ,
I expect mr o get a dull ache in his left lug when driving I get that a lot but never when im on my own driving funny that ,
Its because women make the better drivers lol
what sitting in the passage sit
The policy to not issue rescue pack I believe was supposed to be supported by COPD (amongst other chronic conditions)patients being able to get to see dr on 'emergency' same day appointment enabling sputem sample analysis and appropriate AB indentification. It's a waste of time money &, more importantly risks your health in other serious ways to take amoxicillin for Moraxella catarrhalis, for example - a common bacterial URT infector... which is amoxicillin resistant.
I have just finished abs for an infection the resp nurse I had never met before told me I didn't have because mucus had not changed colour, but I could tell from tight chest, wheezing and increased mucus. Sure enough turned green the next day. Feeling much better now. Since I have serious heart problems etc I felt she was very off hand. At my last GP I was told to insist on a dr's appointment but doesn't seem to work here. I see GP in a couple of weeks and will have to sort out what should be done. I wish life wasn't so complicated. The hospitals, Welsh and English, have been very good though.
Apart from chills, fever, tightness of chest & coughing more than usual sputum which darkens in colour I have one absolute failsafe indicator. I get a swelling on my left forehead which does not last much beyond 24 hours when the other symptoms started. It doesn't hurt & is not so unsightly that I feel embarrassed about it. Life long asthmatic & diagnosed with Bronch June 2014. Docs have seen it & made a guess but no one KNOWS what it is. If you have had this please comment.
chest infections
Chest infections 
chest infections
chest infections
