Sputum sample with mild Bronchiectasis and only occasional dry cough

You need to nebulize with 3 or 7 per cent saline. 7 works better. Saline for nebulizer you can get without prescription on amazon. Nebulizers you can get online. I have a pari vios. Then you need an airway clearance device like an acapella or an aerobika. You nebulize, then use the aerobika, then huff cough and see if anything will come up. The idea is to loosen the mucus in your lungs and keep it moving so it can come out. Otherwise it plugs up in your lungs and gets infected. I too am mildly infected in right middle lobe. I nebulize every other day . If you get sick you need to do it more. Mucinex helps if you feel plugged up.

I also have mild bronchiectasis with no or only occaisional symptoms. I've been diagnosed since 2017 and never could produce sputum with the directions I was getting from my local pulmonologist. I finally went to Mayo in 2025 and was taught by the respiratory therapists there how to properly use a nebulizer with aerobika and properly do the breathing that precedes the huff cough. I have trouble and do not like the huff cough but I have been able to produce sputum this way. I rest for awhile between huffs if I don't feel good from it and usually stop after 3 rounds of the procedure series as thats what I can tolerate. Because I have been able to produce and send in sputum samples, I have since been diagnosed with MAC but due to the fact I have low to no symptoms, I do not need to be treated with "the big 3" at this time and my treatment is more vigilant nebs and airway clearance.
I hope this helps you and hope that you can get to a bronchiectasis center that can give you good guidance.

Hi @annalaine I too have mild BE and have been diagnosed with MAC. Fortunately my sputum tests for the last year have come back at negative or 'few' for MAC. I do nebulize levalbuteral and 7% saline at least 5 days per week (Have an extra neb in my desk at work and do it while reading / answering morning emails.
I go to Mayo in FL for sputum tests. I live over an hour away so trying to keep a cup with me then get it to them is difficult. So when I go, I take my albuterol inhaler with me. and my Aerobika. I do my inhaler about 20 min before appt. Then during appt I nebulize with 10% saline. that will usually get me coughing. I sometimes take a break from neb and use aerobika for a bit, then back on neb with 10%. I may do a few huff coughs, if needed. I think taking a break helps because the saline is intended to draw water to your lungs to help thin out the mucus. For myself, I feel like that takes a bit of time. Hope this helps!

Unable to produce sputum - Any advice?
I have recently been diagnosed with bronchiectasis and AFB but dont have symtoms. However, my pulmonologist prescribed a nebulizer with albuterol and 7 % sodium (which I figured out how to get without charge through my hospital pharmacy who knew how to code for medicare) once a day. I just started the Big 3. No matter how I try I cannot expectoraate sputum (my huff cough produces no resultes - mucous only goes as far as my throat). My ID doc sent me to the hospital for 3 days of sputum samples - again no luck producing sputum. Is there another way to collect sputum to culture to determine if my AFB is positive or negative or do I just keep taking the Big 3 for a year ad hope for the best? I see my ID in a month. Many thanks for your thoughts