Asthma

so i have had a sputum test and came back abnormal and my doctor has said ive got a bacteria growth is this bad, as i keep bring up sticky clear gluey sputum???

[Spacecat1]

i was told 3 months ago i had bacteria growing in my lungs picked up during sputum test i cough a lot i take antibiotics every other day t keep infections at bay. P.s. i also have copd

[Hidden in reply to Spacecat1]

how did you feel with it how they get rid of it

[Spacecat1 in reply to Hidden]

i feel fine still coughing phlegm still normaml colour they are happy with me. The only change is if phlegm changes colour and i feel chesty to stop my 3 day a week antibiotic and go on to new antibiotic . Touchwood not had a chest infection since March which is good for me. So the 3 day week antibiotic keeping things at bay (i hope) i feel ok.

[Hidden in reply to Spacecat1]

did you get tight chest before

[Spacecat1 in reply to Spacecat1]

always tight when i have chest infection

[Hidden in reply to Spacecat1]

I mean when you had bactira growth

[peege in reply to Hidden]

bacteria gowth in the lung is usually called an infection and treated with antibiotics to get rid of it. There are different bacterias so if youve had a sputum test theyll probably treat it with about 10 to 14 days of the correct antibiotic. You usually feel rough with a chest infection

[Hidden in reply to peege]

they daid tablets wont help mine ive got tto be admitted

[peege in reply to Hidden]

ah, it must be a nasty one then so its vital that you go ahead to get it sorted asap. Good luck

[tomc in reply to Hidden]

I was never out of Hospital, no sooner home and back into respiratory ward.

However, The professor decided that I was in hospital too much (think maybe he didn't like me) so my consultant has put me on supportive ABs which although have kept me out of hospital have meant I have not needed my rescue meds BUT, MY SPUTUM AND COUGH sometimes sputum is slight green in colour and cough can be ragingly obtrusive.

But hey, I am thankful for small mercies.

[GintyFerguson]

I had asthma for many years and then I developed bronchiectasis . Many infections and gloopy phlegm later both diseases are under control. Would be useful to know which bacteria you have and then you can research it if you wish. I used to get moraxhella cattarhalis and haemophilus influenzae. Not everyobody wants to know these things and your bacteria could be different. Good luck.

[Hidden in reply to GintyFerguson]

did it cause you tight chest problems and breathlessness

[GintyFerguson in reply to Hidden]

That's not simple to answer because I have two conditions and they can't really be separated. However, when I just had asthma yes, my chest would be tight and I would be breathless with some clear phlegm. However, now if I have a bronchiectasis exacerbation the phlegm will be discoloured and I'll be breathless with tight chest. Hope that helps. Having said that symptoms of tight chest and breathlessness needs to be properly diagnosed by GP.

[SomerDragon123 in reply to GintyFerguson]

Hi, l’m struggling with Haemophilus influenzae plus moraxella catarrhalis right now…. 2 courses each of amoxicillin and doxycycline have done nothing….What finally got rid of it for you if I could ask?… my doctor said they were very sneaky bugs and so hard to get rid of.

[GintyFerguson in reply to SomerDragon123]

I remember well the day I felt so ill I asked for a house call. Doc told me both these bugs were having a great time in my lungs! That was a long time ago so I cannot remember exactly which antibiotics I was prescribed at the time but I do remember having two at the same time which made me feel sick but did the trick! One definitely was not amoxicillan. I know this because doc stopped prescribing that because it stopped working after many years of infections . Then, I became colonised with Haemophilus and did home IVs with Tazocin. Unfortunately, infections of either Moraxella or Haemophilus persisted until eventually I had to stop working. My health has been so much better since but I also take a range of supplements which I am convinced have helped . Vit D, Omega 3, Vit C , ZInc Evening Primrose Oil. I also stay away from under 5s. They carry both bugs in respiratory systems but they dont affect the kids! Good luck.

[SomerDragon123 in reply to GintyFerguson]

Thank you so much for your reply, wow you really did have a hard time, I hope your health and life are much easier now…. I realise it’s going to be a hard slog to get rid of these nasties and not helped by the fact that I also have a low immune system from rheumatoid arthritis, I read that everyone has these bugs but they don’t cause any concerns or problems in a healthy person…I do supplement with d3, vit c, zinc but haven’t tried omega 3 or evening primrose …maybe the doc will come up with 2 separate antibiotics like they did for you to hopefully kill off the two different bugs… 🤞🤞…thank you again x

[Hidden in reply to SomerDragon123]

The lab report will show the sensitivities so your gp should prescribe accordingly, but occasionally (for reasons I don’t understand) an antibiotic doesn’t work despite the bacterium’s apparent sensitivity to it.

I know some of the cephalosporins are effective against m.catarrhalis, and also Septrin and Augmentin, but I didn’t think it was usually sensitive to ordinary amoxicillin, or doxycycline (tho they’re good for h.influenzae) Maybe the lab report says your particular strain IS sens tho🤔

Bear in mind I’m only a patient with a lot of experience of these bugs! If the oral antibiotics haven’t worked, maybe your consultant will consider IVs

[SomerDragon123 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for your reply…. It certainly is a hard one to get rid of, I’ll be speaking to the doc next week as the last sputum test revealed ‘no further action’…. What the heck!.. I’m confused

[Bevvy]

Bacteria growth is sputum simply means that the have a chest infections for some reason. This won’t necessarily be serious and will easily clear up with antibiotics. The fact you have done a sputum test is good because they will know which antibiotic to treat you with.

[Hidden in reply to Bevvy]

did it cause you tight chest problems and breathlessness

[Bevvy in reply to Hidden]

probable with a chest infection. But they going to treat it now so that’s good.

[Alberta56]

Good luck. Hope you'll feel a lot better when they've got rid of those nasty bacteria.