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Hemoptysis - wonder what others do
Hi. I have asthma and mild Bronchiectasis, diagnosed with the latter last year. I have had small spots of blood when clearly fighting an infection on a couple of occasions. However, the last couple of days, I have had a couple of bright red blood spots (not large, but always alarming!) in my clear mucus. I don't have a cough or fever. Noticing a little chest tightness but not a lot. I usually neb with levalbutirol followed by either 3% or 7% saline (usually a mix to get to about 5% as best tolerated) in the morning plus aerobika and breathing exercises and then aerobika and postural drainage in the evening. I sometimes neb in the evening as well - if I am fighting something or have been around potential germs, which I did twice this weekend.
I have held off using the saline over the last 24-hours as don't wish to aggravate the situation. But, of course, I also don't want to make things worse by not doing airway clearance! My pulmonologist isn't the most-versed in Bronchiectasis nor readily-available. But in Maine, they are all in short supply!
Just wondering what others do or have been instructed to do with any signs of hemoptysis when it's a small amount. Thanks!
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It is N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine. It supports respiratory function, glutathione production and detoxification. It also helps thin mucous so it It easier to get up. I 've only been taking it a few days so don't really notice a difference yet.
I feel you. I too cough up mucus everyday around noon and I dare not go out during that time fearing blood would come out with mucus.
I have allergies & recently I experienced an epistaxis (bloody nose) that I initially thought was hemoptysis. Epistaxis is not brand new to me since I had them frequently as a child. It took a bit to discern that this recent bleeding was upper respiratory since the bright red blood was draining in the back of my throat as opposed to out of nose. The hemoptysis I’ve experienced was from pneumonia as a mix of old & new blood surrounding the plugs I coughed up. Warmest regards to all!
I have seen blood in mucus ( small amount in thick mucus a few times a day, totally about 1 tablespoon or less) everyday for over a month. I am taking daily three oral antibiotics and amikacin inhalation 3 times a week ( my doctor told me to switch from 7 times/ week to 3 times / week due to bleeding). I have stopped airway clearance for 4 weeks but it is always there, and never goes away. It does not get better or get worse too. If I worked long hours, it gets worse, otherwise it is stable.
I heard it is from bronchiectasis, but my bronchiectasis is mild and only limited to MAC area. Does anyone have similar experience and what you did to manage/stop the bleeding please?
My doctor asked me to do a CT, but I have done two this year, really do not want to do more!
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2 ReactionsDon't you think the small amount of blood is a side effect of the Amikacin? One of the side effects is coughing up blood but your reaction is mild and hopefully the benefit will outweigh any risk?
Dear Irenea8, thanks for reminding me of this. Yes I think it is a possible side effect of amikacin. But if I have stop airway clearance completely .... probably I should stop amikacin.
In Dr. Metersky’s webinar he did say that coughing could potentially trigger hemoptysis, and because I am very prone to it, and have had the kind of massive hemoptysis that is life threatening, I try to guard very carefully against coughing. So far, I’ve been moderately successful skirting frequent bleeding through eating a liquid, soupy diet exclusively, and drinking a lot of warm water all day long with mineral drops in it to replenish those I may lose because of the quantity of water that I drink. This keeps secretions thin enough so that I can just spit them out without force, or else they just go through my system easily. Most of all, I find that I have had to stay extremely sensitive to when secretions are building, and in that case, postpone a meal and increase the warm water intake. It works most of the time.
At first, I had to calculate my protein intake carefully so that the soup diet would nourish me appropriately, but have gotten the hang of it slowly. I hope this is helpful.
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2 ReactionsHello all. I wanted to shared that Mullen has been suggested to help thin the secretions. Took it early on before I knew I had MAC. Now that I am on the 3 antibiotics, cough and secretions much Diminished.
Thanks for sharing @pfurcht123. I have bought a mullen bought four months ago. As I am taking many supplements, I really hesitate to take more. I dont cough but at the end of airway clearance, I always find something in my throat hard to spit out. Do you think that mullen can help the final move?
I also find in Facebook Lung Matters, they mention Huff Cough and Sailor Hook. They say Huff Cough is effective but Sailor Hook helps the final move. I hope I know what is Sailor Hook.
I have taken antibiotics for four months. Fatigue is gone and feel much more solid overall. I may have MAC for quite a while, but covid 19 made it worse.
Helen, so glad you are feeling better! Aside from the amikacin, how are you tolerating the Big 3? Do you nebulize as well as do airway clearance? I hope that, without the fatigue, your daily routine has become easier.