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Nebulised Saline
Has anyone ever had side effects from taking nebulised saline? I have bronchiectasis and NTM. I do daily airway clearance sometimes I clear a lot of mucus other days I do not. No two days are the same. My consultant has mentioned that he might start me doing this but is concerned that I might have a broncho spasm. I do not want to make things worse. I am able to work and do not want to give that up. When I was off for 6 months last year it was not good for my mental health - work keeps me focused and gives me a sense of purpose
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The 7%saline does irritate my lungs but it is necessary to move the mucus and create an inhospitable environment for bacteria. Albuterol helps. I just started using lignosus, hopefully that will help my lungs.
I take a few seconds break intermittently as I’m nebulizing and take a couple sips water and tolerate the 7% fine. You could start with 3% or so half the vial of 7% to ease into it. I coughed, seemingly from irritation, the first few times, but body seemed to adjust. I’ve been nebulizing it since October at recommendation of my pulmonologist to try to decrease winter exacerbations. It did seem to help,
I've never had any side effects. I started with 3% to see how well I'd tolerate it. It was not a problem so I increased it to 7%. This was about 3 years ago. I've had no problems whatsoever. But, remember, everyone is different and I'd suggest starting with a weaker solution first. Saline was a game changer for me in terms of reducing my cough and improving my symptoms.
Thank you - that all sounds so positive. But as you say we are all different.