Advice please on possible flare-up of bronchiectasis and when to start taking emergency pack of Doxycycline

[Frustrated12]

I have mild Bronchiectasis and been very lucky in past few years. Tw days in a row I have been out in cold wind. Now my right lung is painful.

I am taking carbocisteine and Azithromycin (long term).

I am worried I will have a flare up? What is best thing to do and should I be taking the Doxycycline emergency pack?

Be grateful for any guidance/own experiences.

Wishing all a happy and healthy New Year.

[teddyd]

Cold air can affect my lungs but not necessary give me an infection or flare up.I get a crackling sound and a productive cough and feel poorly with a flare up and over the years know when to take emergency pack.

I dont want to advice you one way or another about starting your emergency pack. If concerned you could call 111

[Frustrated12 in reply to teddyd]

Thanks for that. I forgot to add to my post that I am a laryngectomee which means I breath through my neck via a stoma which means I have a permanent tracheostomy. So cold air goes directly into my lungs! I should have known the dangers of cold air. It has happened before. I have a crackling sound and pain but no green phlegm - yet. I suppose I will know more tomorrow. Keeping warm and nebulising. Crossing fingers it does not develop. Big thank you for prompt reply.

[gingermusic]

Normally you would only start your rescue pack at first sign of chest infection i.e coughing and bringing up darker than normal phlegm. Hope this helps

[Frustrated12 in reply to gingermusic]

Thank you ginger music. Lots of good wishes. 👍

[peege]

hi, I'm having something very similar after several days with little children and a bracing walk in an icy wind. I was so knackered I'd forgotten ot to cover my mouth. That was Thursday, Friday I was proper poorly & stayed in bed, Saturday I dosed on paracetamol & did the 4 hour drive home. The coughing and chest have been so painful and totally unproductive until last night. It's felt a bit like flu with sore eyes, aches & pains & feverish.

I also have Azithromycin for 3 days per week. I've decided to take it every day for a few days. That's me though, I wouldn't suggest anyone take abs without being prescribed however, my gp is impossible to get through to - I just don't have the energy. My big fear is developing pneumonia.

my sputum is thick yellow, the moment there's a green tinge I shall take the azith daily , possibly up the dose. I've got an out of date box of doxy & one of clarithromycin, not sure I'd take them though.

Keep an eye on the colour of yours

[Frustrated12 in reply to peege]

Thank you peg. Best wishes.

[Alberta56 in reply to peege]

Hope you're soon better, peg. xxxx

[Maricopa in reply to peege]

I do the same. I catch it early on.

[Patk1 in reply to peege]

Hope u can Rest up for few days Peege x

[peege in reply to Patk1]

ah loads better thank you for thinking of me. I started little walks with the dog yesterday. Poor deprived thing.

I do hope Frustrated12 is on the mend too. ××

[Straddie]

my first bronch consultant told me seven years ago to use the emergency pack if I had two of three symptoms — more breathless than usual, coughing more, change in the colour of my phlegm. I have stuck religiously to that and I suspect that once or twice I have taken the antibiotics and steroids when I haven’t needed them. I don’t think the antibiotics have harmed me though the steroids probably have: my skin is very thin. A sputum test is no real help. It takes three days to get the results and they are not always reliable.

[Frustrated12 in reply to Straddie]

Thank you Straddle, and lots of good wishes.

[Straddie]

And to you. I hope for some easy breathing for you. And for us all.

[Benjacki]

Difficult to generalise as everyone is different. Ive just had another flareup. Started with a sore throat and then became a cough. Unusually this time I had green sputum quite quickly so I started Doxy then. Ive had 7days dixy and Im a lot better. Still coughing up but much less now. Tomorrow will try to contact gp to ask whether to keep taking for another 7days. Past 2flareups have been given clarithromycin which makes me feel really unwell and didnt clear things up. I woukd advise to check with your gp until you become familiar with your own circumstances. Hopefully you feel better soon.

[Lilianne]

Hi Frustrated. I do not take the Azithromycin as it upsets my stomach. I tend not to take any drugs due to the side effects. However, I do take the Doxycycline when I cough up blood which mans I have an infection. Sometimes I feel that I too, take antibiotics when I do not need them as the blood disappears after a day or too! Please be guided by your consultant, that is when you can actually see a consultant rather than a telephone call! Best wishes for you and your family for the New Year. Lilianne.

[Frustrated12 in reply to Lilianne]

Thank you. And lots of good wishes and good health for the New Year.

[watergazer]

it can be quite tricky to decide on the correct time to start antibiotics. You’ve had some good answers xx

[Frustrated12 in reply to watergazer]

Yes indeed. They are extremely good, and welcome.

[Alberta56]

i don't feel qualified to give advice- your medical team are the best people for that, but I hope you feel better very soon. xxx

[Frustrated12 in reply to Alberta56]

Thank you. And wishing you the best of health and happiness for the New Year.

[Alberta56]

Thank you.

[kimmyb_83]

Hi my mum is also a neck breather with permanent tracheotomy and has bronchiectasis. She isn’t able to tolerate azythro as a prophylactic antibiotic, she gets pains in her arms from it. She uses doxy as rescue and just knows in herself when she feels something coming on. For her it’s very much act fast. If chest feels bit tight, sats bit lower and some more mucous than normal, she starts the doxy. We always try to put a sputum sample in just before she takes first dose, just in case doxy doesn’t work and we need to switch to right antibiotic in few days. We always try to nip it in the bud early, as she can go downhill quite quickly if a bug takes hold.

Hope that’s of some help 😊

[Frustrated12 in reply to kimmyb_83]

it was thank you. Wishing you all the best.

[Patk1]

It sounds like yr learning the cold airs an irritant to you.do try to protect yr airways & lungs.xp

[Frustrated12 in reply to Patk1]

thank you👍