Bronchiectasis


Where to massage for bronchial dilation?
There is no definite efficacy for the treatment of bronchiectasis with massage therapy. Generally, the main measure for bronchiectasis is to prevent respiratory infections. Bronchiectasis often presents symptoms of coughing up purulent sputum and may be accompanied by chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and hemoptysis. In patients with bronchiectasis, respiratory infections may exacerbate these symptoms. Therefore, preventing respiratory infections is crucial for bronchiectasis. Additionally, if the patient has obvious coughing and expectoration, mucolytic medications can be used to facilitate expectoration. If the patient experiences chest tightness and difficulty breathing, inhaling bronchodilators can help improve these conditions. For patients with bronchiectasis, if the lesions are localized and recurrent infections or hemoptysis occur, surgical treatment may also be considered.


Is bronchiectasis serious?
First, we need to properly face the disease of bronchiectasis. Many patients with bronchiectasis are like normal people, without any clinical manifestations. Therefore, if these patients lead a regular life, it does not affect their quality of life or survival rate, so they are not considered severe cases. However, some patients experience repeated infections that worsen and may involve coughing up blood and progressive decline in lung function. These cases are relatively severe. Nevertheless, we can intervene effectively to slow the progression of the disease. Therefore, the severity varies among different patients with bronchiectasis.


How to exercise with bronchiectasis
Firstly, patients with bronchiectasis are not suitable for intense physical exercise, especially during the onset of the disease. They should rest appropriately instead of engaging in excessive exercise, as overexertion can lead to a further worsening of the condition. When the condition is stable, activities like walking, swimming, and brisk walking can be considered. However, the choice should be based on one's personal health status, and the exercise must be moderate. The intensity of the exercise should not be too high, nor should it be too exhausting, as excessive fatigue can also trigger the onset of the disease.


Is bronchiectasis easy to treat?
Firstly, bronchiectasis is incurable, but its treatability cannot be judged solely by whether it can be cured or not. Some bronchiectasis patients have no clinical symptoms, and such patients do not need treatment. They only need regular check-ups and to maintain proper lifestyle habits. However, for patients who experience frequent disease attacks, strict prevention is necessary to avoid triggers such as infections and fatigue. Using sensitive medications during disease flare-ups can also lead to improvement.


What will happen if bronchiectasis worsens?
Bronchiectasis is classified as an infectious disease of the respiratory internal medicine, mainly caused by the invasion of various pyogenic bacteria into the respiratory tract, which usually leads to inflammation and fibrotic changes in the bronchi and surrounding lung tissue. Therefore, patients with bronchiectasis often exhibit clinical symptoms such as cough, expectoration, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and chest pain. It is crucial to provide timely treatments for such patients, including anti-infection measures, cough relief, expectoration, and hemostasis. If bronchiectasis is not effectively treated, it may lead to complications such as hypoxemia and severe bleeding. It is known that bronchiectasis does not lead to cancer due to local inflammation.


Treatment of bronchiectasis
I personally believe that prevention is more important than treatment for bronchiectasis, because effectively preventing disease episodes is more beneficial to the patient than long-term medication. Treatment usually involves using sensitive antibiotics, and prolonged use of antibiotics can lead to multi-drug resistant bacteria or infections by specific groups. Therefore, prevention is key. Preventing disease episodes generally includes maintaining healthy lifestyle habits, avoiding staying up late, smoking, emotional agitation, and excessive fatigue. Vaccinations for influenza and pneumonia can also be received annually to reduce the risk of infection.


How to completely cure bronchiectasis?
Bronchiectasis refers to the inflammation and fibrosis of the bronchi and surrounding lung tissue due to various causes, ultimately leading to the destruction of the muscular and elastic tissue of the bronchial walls. This causes the bronchi to become deformed and permanently dilated, commonly referred to as bronchiectasis. The most common clinical symptoms of bronchiectasis include coughing, production of phlegm, and coughing up blood. When treating bronchiectasis, the first step is to treat the symptoms, such as administering treatments to reduce phlegm, fight infection, and stop bleeding. If the patient continues to experience symptoms repeatedly after these treatments, we may recommend surgical intervention, if the patient's condition allows, to remove the dilated bronchi, thereby achieving the goal of cure.


Does bronchiectasis cause nausea?
Bronchiectasis generally does not present with symptoms of nausea. Bronchiectasis primarily occurs when the body is infected with particular pathogenic microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, atypical mycobacteria, or from childhood infections like measles or whooping cough that damage the cartilage of the trachea, causing the tracheal cartilage to fail in maintaining the normal shape of the trachea. Consequently, the trachea can become dilated due to the pulling by the surrounding lung tissue. Once diagnosed with bronchiectasis, the main symptoms displayed are coughing, coughing up phlegm, and some patients may also experience chest tightness and shortness of breath. Generally, it does not cause nausea. However, severe coughing or a significant amount of difficult-to-expel phlegm can lead to concurrent symptoms of nausea, but these are not directly caused by the disease itself, but rather by its complications. Therefore, appropriate treatment can significantly alleviate these symptoms.


How to manage bronchiectasis?
Firstly, sensitive antimicrobial agents should be chosen during the acute phase to control the infection, with the preferred medications being beta-lactam antibiotics. Penicillin-type drugs can be administered intravenously for anti-inflammatory treatment. Additionally, medications that dilute phlegm and relieve bronchial smooth muscle spasms should be selected to ease symptoms such as coughing and expectoration. If there is significant hemoptysis, hemostatic drugs should also be considered. For symptoms of respiratory distress accompanied by hypoxia, clinical treatments primarily include oxygen therapy to alleviate symptoms, focusing on symptomatic treatment.


What medicine is used for bronchiectasis?
Bronchiectasis is particularly common clinically. The choice of medication for bronchiectasis needs to be determined based on the specific conditions of the patient. Generally, the aggravation of bronchiectasis is caused by recurrent infections, so controlling infections is fundamental in treatment. As for the application of antibiotics, the principle we follow is to select medications based on the different bacterial spectrums in different regions, with the most scientific method being the use of sensitive antibiotics identified through sputum bacterial culture and drug susceptibility tests. Additionally, we also use expectorants like ambroxol and bromhexine. If there is concurrent respiratory distress or a decline in lung function, inhalants such as budesonide-formoterol powder may also be used.