fellow Broncs - how many of you suffer from excess nasal/sinus mucous alongside the stuff clogging up the lungs ? I have been on steroid nasal sprays for years due to allergic rhinitis but since the diagnosis of bronch in May 2021( after 40 yrs of asthma) my post nasal clogging and sinus headaches are 10 x worse. Find myself waking at 3am choking on thick mucous in my throat. During the day my nose is almost totally blocked. Currently using a face mask for my saline nebs to try and help the sinuses. Have tried a Netti pot which makes me very dizzy. Taking Fexofenadine 180 in morning and Montelukast at bedtime. GP not much help!!! Anybody here find anything else helpful? Thanks. I do sleep with the head of the bed propped up to stop acid reflux overnight.
bronchiectasis and mucous! - Lung Conditions C...
bronchiectasis and mucous!
have you seen an ENT specialist about your sinuses. After a lifetime of bronch and the same problem I had a sinus op in 1992 and no problems since.
Not yet!! Think I will push for ent referral as quality of life is sinking fast.
That would be a good idea. Sinus problems plague us bronchs because damaged cillia cause us not to be able to expel mucus and this leads to chronic infection. Unfortunately GPs don't generally make the connection and when we are talking to our consultants we tend to concentrate on our bronch. Good luck. I hope you get it sorted
Like Lp I also saw an ENT specialist after years of sinus headache (had been treated for migraine for a few years by GP), had the op in 2007 and loads better since.
you could add acupressure to your repotoire, see youtube for the acupressure points for sinus clearance.
I also live with bronchiectasis and associated asthma. The worst bits for me are the coughing fits that embarrassingly occur sometimes for no reason when I’m having a conversation with someone! I use sabutimol and seretide inhalers for the asthma, desloratadine and avamys for the sinuses. At night I take one montelukast. I also run twice a week and go to the gym twice a week and swim once a week. I’m 69 yo and keeping active is so important to me! I love my food and red wine (in moderation of course!)
i suffer Like you but find nasal sprays can make it worse i use sterimar which is herbal and helps a
Thanks for the tip! Will try and get some tomorrow. Sadly tipping my head on one side to use a netti pot just caused vertigo, so will look for Sterimar spray.
You can get them in supermarkets now as well as pharmacists. Nowadays there are several to choose from different sizes including pediatric one! I'd just go for the original which is sterile seawater.
I can’t get on with the netti pot either. If the mucus is thick, I’d get sterimar Congestion Relief Hypertonic Spray. It really helps thin the mucus. It’s £8.50 in Boots. Don’t get their own brand because it’s no good
good morning ,have you tried clearance techniques for mucus to rid it from your lungs using a device like an acapella or flutter?
hello,yes I have seen a physio who has given me exercises to clear the chest but they don't work for me. I am waiting to see another physio but her waiting list is several months so have purchased my own nebuliser and am doing daily hypertonic saline solution nebs every morning. Also been referred back to my chest consultant but told that's a very long wait too.
Same here! I'm intending to mention it to my GP next time I speak to her as I've been prescribed Beconase nasal spray, Cetirizine antihistamine and Montelukast for years. I feel sure there must be something else out there that would help. xx Moy
I use Neils Sinus remedy from Boots , it has sachets of powder to dissolve in warm water, also has a squirty bottle. I use twice a day sometimes more, it has helped a lot.
Perhaps the squirty bottle will be easier for me to use than tipping my head sideways with a netti pot! Chronic balance problems mean I get very dizzy very easily!
I, too, suffer with nasal congestion along with my Bronchiectasis and Asthma. I use Neilmed Nasal Rinse system and have done for years, as recommended by my Consultant. It's available in Boots, either the whole package with bottle and sachets or just the sachet refills. I find it works much better than the saline sprays but that's just personal choice. Keep well Captaincough.
Hi Captaincough, I sympathise with you as I have chronic sinusitis and bronchiectasis too. As well as a steroidal nasal spray I use a nasal rinse daily. This was recommended by the ENT docs. Maybe ask your GP if this would suit you. You can buy the bottle and sachets at the chemist without prescription. I have had several ops which help for a while. I have severe pain from the sinuses from time to time but have learnt to live with it. Best wishes Marlybee.
I suffered with this for years after a really bad sinus infection. It didnt clear up until I had surgery, sadly the surgeon left a hole in my septum but am still glad I had it done. I still suffer nasal mucus problems but nothing like before. I used Sterimar and found anithistamine helped alot before surgery. Get yourself a referral to ent quickly, good luck x
I use Olbas Nasal Spray and this almost stops night phlegminess
Yeah, I suffered with catarrh and sinusitus all through my youth and beyond. Trying to find a position to hold my head where I could get air into my lungs was a constant thing when in bed trying to sleep. My old doctor used to look up my nose and put me on an antibiotic quite regularly. In my youth I used nasal drops called Fenox, which worked, but it wore off and the blockage seemed to come back even worse. Later I used Vicks Sinex, but I remember using it when on holiday in Ibiza, and also used my Ventolin, and I felt terrible, so I decided they didn't mix well. When I was 45 in 1987, an X-ray showed I had a polyp. I then had an operation which removed that, holes drilled through from my nasal passages into my cheek sinuses, and something called sinipie escopens (as near as I can remember) which is trimming of tiny bones in nasal airways, increasing the spaces for air to pass. This made a tremendous difference, and was the best thing ever for me. These improvements have decreased over the years, and I wouldn't mind betting the polyp has regrown. I did go on a steroid nasal spray for a probably 18 months which helped. My wife used this type of spray as well, but then we were both diagnosed as being pre-diabetic, and as I found that steroids can induce diabetes, we've both given that up. We both use Avamys, which I'm not sure does anything for either of us.
It's an annoying issue isn't it and I don't think GP realises the detrimental effects it has on quality of life. My consultant tried me on Rinatec nasal spray but that just caused loads of nosebleeds so swiftly taken off it again. Have recently stopped my Relvar inhaler as one major side effect is (fanfare and drum roll) BLOCKED NOSE AND INCREASE IN MUCOUS. Returned to my old faithful Qvar for my asthma until the appointment comes through for my chest consultant( who prescribed the Relvar in the first place!). So much trial & error involved in sorting stuff out.
I think like most things, ills are often genetic. Two of our three children have trouble with stuffy noses, and one regularly gets sinusitus.
Hi, I too have bronch and get blocked nose and ears and a very dry mouth. I have a tissue in a little pot and drop olbus oil on to it. I keep this next to my pillow at night and breath it in when I need to. I also have a salt lamp on all night. Not sure if either would suit or help you but thought it worth a mention. Good luck and take care xxx
I've had chronic rhinosinusitis most of life & use steroid nasal sprays, recently changed frm avamys to budesonide.ths helped.i also take fenofexadine + montelukast plus otc loratidine mid afternoon.whn I've lot of pain I do sinus rinse which i find useful.i periodically have antibiotics for sinusitis.i also take decongestant,at times
I currently use sterimar. I have also used neilmed sinus rinse and it’s what ENT docs recommend. You can get them from Amazon or eBay and make your own solution as per the NHS website. I’ve also had the FESS op twice. The second time was more successful than the first. Do push for the referral to ENT. When I had sinus problems they always ended with a chest infection. Good luck.
hI Captain ... yes I get you ... .. my consultant prescribed Nasonex ( antibiotic nasal spray) and Sterimar nasal rinse, which were gradually changed to No Sterimar and the cheapest nasal spray waws prescribed at my gp practice, which some years later a new GP at our practice told me it wasn't good enough for the severe rhinits I had ... he then prescribed me a new one its called Dymista and it does help and he's put Sterimar Breathe easy DAILY back on for me ... its made such a difference to me quality of life... It makes me wonder Do they really care about making us better or is it all about their bloody budget ...
they're getting like many of the animal vets ... the care isn't as important as the money ...
...
Main issue with my GP surgery is all the very good docs have left or retired and its it's now mainly manned by locums so no continuity of care as they are there one week and gone the next!!!
Frankly it does not seem to interest the medics much.
I’ve recently been prescribed Carbocisteine which has helped me greatly. This medicine thins the mucus so your body has a better chance of getting rid of it in a normal way or for you to cough it up.
Sadly I can't take carbocisteine as I have a previous medical history of stomach ulcers, and still suffer from gastric reflux.
Help for loosening mucous. An anti-mucous aid 
A question for my fellow 'asthma with bronchiectasis' friends
Could this be Bronchiectasis?
