Listen to Dr PJ McShane's Recent Talk on Airway Clearance!

Have you had a chance to listen to Dr PJ McShane's talk on the importance of airway clearance? I'm still reviewing it, but here are some takeaways:

MUCUS

Mucus plays a vital role in lung health. It contains mucins, which act like a sponge, absorbing water and creating a gel-like substance. This gel traps dust, germs, and toxins, protecting the airways. However, in bronchiectasis, the balance is disrupted.

The excess mucins in bronchiectasis make the mucus thicker and heavier. This overwhelms tiny hairs called cilia lining the airways. Normally, cilia act like miniature brooms, sweeping mucus upwards to be coughed out. But burdened by the dense mucus, they struggle to function effectively. This leads to mucus buildup, creating a breeding ground for infections and further inflammation.

Dr. McShane offers a reassuring message. "Scientists are working on fixing this problem based on drugs that target those receptors and target the mucin. We cannot fix that by our diet, so you're not doing anything wrong. Keep living your life. And stay tuned because science is moving forward."

THE IMPACT OF DRINKING WATER AND DAIRY ON MUCUS

"With bronchiectasis mucus becomes heavy and weighs down the epithelial cells and the cilia. So now the mucus becomes stagnant.. Don't go rushing to your refrigerator and grab a bottle of water and start drinking.

I want you to understand that if this is nothing that you're doing wrong and you can't fix this by drinking your water. In fact, if you do drink more water, you're going to lower your sodium in your blood and then you're going to have symptoms and have to go to the ER and it's going to be a nightmare. So, just drink if you're thirsty. You can't fix these abnormal abnormalities in your mucus by your diet.

Many of my patients will say that (they) shouldn't have dairy products because it increases the mucus. And I'm not sure that's 100% scientifically based. I would rather my patients, get the dairy, get the protein, get the calcium from the dairy in their diet, and understand that the abnormalities of their mucus are coming from something different than just what they eat in their diet."

COUGH

Why isn't a cough enough? Why do people living with bronchiectasis need to do daily airway clearance?

During a cough, air is expelled from the lungs at high speed, clearing the airways of irritants, mucus, or foreign particles. This forceful action can also bring up mucus from the lungs.

Furthermore, coughing relies on the elasticity of the airways to manage the increased pressure. But, in conditions like bronchiectasis, the airways lose their elasticity and do not respond normally to the pressures exerted during a cough.

According to Dr. PJ McShane, "This is why you can cough your head off to the point that you're exhausted and nothing's coming out and you don't feel like it's effective, and instead you're just getting tired. So that's where airway clearance comes in. And that's why it's so important to learn techniques you can do, other than just a simple cough."

AND THERE IS LOTS MORE!!

Enjoy,
Linda Esposito