Failure to expectorate mucus resulting in progressive airway damage is the hallmark of bronchiectasis. Therefore effective airway clearance techniques (ACT) is the key step in its management.

Airway clearance techniques means getting the mucus and crud out of your lungs. Nebulizing is one way this helps. You are nebulizing albuterol to open up your airways and then the saline to thin the mucus to help get it out. The saline also helps make the lungs less hospitable to germs. Nebulizing with saline is usually followed by huff coughing to bring up the sputum. This is airway clearance. Other methods are postural drainage, exercise, and the use of the autogenic drainage app. People use whatever method or combination of methods that work to clear the lungs of mucus.