Hi there, has anyone heard about percussion vests? I believe these are worn instead of having postural draining done to help bring up mucus for people with Bronchiectasis and CF. Does anyone have any knowledge on these types of vest? Can anyone help?
Kind regards
Joseph Rogan
They are useful in very sick people who do not have the energy or muscle power to do it themselves. I would say that it is better to use the strength of your own body to do it with the help of such things as flutter devices and mucus thinners. Muscles that are not used deteriorate.
Thank you
Vests are much more common in the States. Not so much in the UK - they are very very expensive. I believe they are sometimes used here in CF units.
cx
Thank you
Read that you can wear them through the airport -I think they are for severe bronchiectasis mostly.
I have one (live in US). It looks like a life vest, and is connected to a machine that inflates the vest and makes it vibrate at different speeds and pressures. I also use a nebulizer and an Aerobika, and it is possible to use all of these simultaneously. Mine is a SmartVest; there are other brands. It is very expensive (upwards of $10,000) but also completely guaranteed for life. Insurance paid for mine. Aside from expense, I don't think there is a downside, especially for people who are troubled by large amounts of sputum or by coughing in the attempt to raise the sputum. What it substitutes for is the vigorous manual clapping or pounding that is difficult to arrange for many, and makes this easy and convenient and guaranteed to be thorough.It is not especially a timesaver, as multiple sessions daily are typically prescribed. I do three. My program has 6 five minute segments, each segment followed by huff coughing to raise the sputum. With the nebulizing each session takes an hour, so for me three hours each day.
Thank you so much for replying and sharing your knowledge with me.
Postural breathing goes on and on.
Another infection Rib pain - clarithromycin instead of doxycycline 
Has anybody else been given Vertine instead of Serevent? 
