What is your Top Question about MAC and Bronchiectasis?

One of my most nagging and practical questions about bronchiectasis, will there ever be any regime/drug/other that will shorten the time it takes to clear the lungs? I need some shortcuts! Presently, I estimate almost 2 hours/day are spent attending to "maintenance" of my airways. This time includes setting up, nebbing, breathing exercises, huff coughs, clean up and sterilization. And the time spent here - lol.

And a followup to my question - can cardio exercise take some of the place of airway clearance?

Not sure my question helps @sisterpulse or @sueinmn !

One of my most nagging and practical questions about bronchiectasis, will there ever be any regime/drug/other that will shorten the time it takes to clear the lungs? I need some shortcuts! Presently, I estimate almost 2 hours/day are spent attending to "maintenance" of my airways. This time includes setting up, nebbing, breathing exercises, huff coughs, clean up and sterilization. And the time spent here - lol.

And a followup to my question - can cardio exercise take some of the place of airway clearance?

Not sure my question helps @sisterpulse or @sueinmn !

Let me see if I can address at least one of your concerns today. You said, "It is likely that my shower head is probably the main source of NTM and / I live near the coast. The use of regular bleach by soaking the shower head has not been proven and here in the UK labs cannot test for NTM."

According to the National Institutes of Health, a 30 minute vinegar soak will effectively eliminate NTM< (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3940030/)
"Effective and economical mycobactericidal disinfectants are needed to kill both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-M. tuberculosis mycobacteria. We found that acetic acid (vinegar) efficiently kills M. tuberculosis after 30 min of exposure to a 6% acetic acid solution. The activity is not due to pH alone, and propionic acid also appears to be bactericidal. M. bolletii and M. massiliense nontuberculous mycobacteria were more resistant, although a 30-min exposure to 10% acetic acid resulted in at least a 6-log10 reduction of viable bacteria. Acetic acid (vinegar) is an effective mycobactericidal disinfectant that should also be active against most other bacteria. These findings are consistent with and extend the results of studies performed in the early and mid-20th century on the disinfectant capacity of organic acids."

Some members tie a plastic bag of vinegar over their showerhead every month or two and let the head soak for 30 minutes or longer. Others remove the head and soak it. The purpose is to disrupt the biofilm where the bacteria congregate, which takes some time to grow, so more frequent treatment is not required.
Further, some water experts recommend running the hot tap for a minute or two before stepping into the shower to "flush out" any bacteria congregating in the pipe.

I hope this answers one of your concerns.
Whe else can help our colleague with answers?
Sue

Hi Sue,
I read a random comment on the trial thread that you had mentioned plain guafenesin works better than the 12 hour release brand. I can’t find that discussion but would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
Thanks @crepass

Has anyone with bronchiectasis and Mac had cataract surgery. I’m worried that using my Aerobika to get rid of phlegm will put too much pressure on my eyes and cause a problem after surgery. I haven’t had the surgery yet I was just wondering if anyone has had the surgery and how they managed getting rid of the phlegm. Also I’m not on any antibiotics for the MAC but was wondering if I had to start the medication for Mac plus have cataract surgery how does that affect the antibiotics I would need after cataract surgery.