bronchiectasis and high eosinophil count

I will be interested in following this thread of discussion. I too have bronchiectasis without MAC so far. I also have colitis that was originally diagnosed as lymphocytic colitis and most recently after a colonoscopy with biopsies was told it is now "eosinophilic colitis" and there is not much information on this and it is not seen very often at all. They did allergy testing ( 51 sticks) but did not really have any reaction except a slight one for some different nuts. The elevation of eosinophils is in the large intestine but not in the blood so far. Is yours is your blood count?

Good morning @wangling and welcome to our Mayo Connect community. We are a group living with bronchiectasis & a variety of related conditions, and I dare say you will find someone whose experience is similar to yours. If you are like many of us, you turned to "Dr. Google" and read lots of scary things, so I'm glad you feel like we offer hope. We are here to share the journey with you and to assure you that bronchiectasis is a disease you can learn to manage and still continue to live a full life.

As for elevated eosinophils, with bronchiectasis it may be a question of "which came first" - elevated numbers may be from an underlying condition like asthma or infection. This, along with the underlying condition, can predispose up to bronchiectasis.

Here is what Mayo has to say about high eosinophils: https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/eosinophilia/basics/definition/sym-20050752

What led to your diagnosis? Were you having lung issues, or was it found during imaging for something else?
Feel free to come and ask any & all questions!

Sue

Hi there!
I think it’s the other way around. It’s the high eosinophil count that causes the bronchiectasis. During the 2021 European bronchiectasis patient conference, Dr. Chalmers spoke about bronchiectasis that is neutrophilic for the most part, and bronchiectasis that is eosinophilic. If you listen to this recording he discusses this issue. At about 25 minutes into the recording, Dr. Chalmers starts to speak.

Hi Sue,
Thank you so much for your reply and thank you for being the voluntary monitor for this group to offer help and hope which is very comforting to me.
Last Oct.  I started coughing, especially bad at night. I went to see 4 different  doctors, they could  not identify anything wrong, x-ray showed nothing.  The coughing never  went away and in Feb. this year I got pneumonia. During  pneumonia treatment,  they did a wide range of blood tests and lung function tests. The function test was normal and a CT scan in March showed pneumonia.  But cough mucus never went away, because of all the test results, doctors believe that I was healing slowly from pneumonia. But recently my condition got worse. I was out of breath while walking. And I got so much more mucus. So they did another CT scan.  This time,  it came with the bad news, I had infections in my lungs and mild bronchiectasis. I have not done another test to identify NTM yet. I might need it in the future. As you all know bronchiectasis is not going to kill us right away, but it makes us so susceptible to infections which is scary. I was so happy to  find you, living a normal life with this disease. This means so much to me. I feel like this is a new family I belong to. In this family we help one another, encourage one another and give advice to one another, and give hope to one another. Right now I am still gathering information on how to control my bronchiectasis condition and try to live a normal life as you all do.My pulmonologist asked me to use the albuterol twice a day before I use a mucus device to get mucus out. Reading your posts,  it seems that keeping the airway clean is the key to avoiding  infections, is that right?  It seems you all use Nebulised 7% hypertonic saline. And some people use smartvest. Should I start using them? I read your earlier post, you mentioned finding a bronchiectasis specialist to work with is very important. I think it is a good idea. I found a pulmonologist focusing on bronchiectasis. I will try to get an appointment with him and see what he says. But you live with this disease and know what works and what not.  I truly value your opinions. Please let me know what you think I should do at my stage. I want to live a normal life, a full life like you say.  Many thanks agaiin!
Ling

It may be a "new normal" with extra precautions but there are ways. Masking during Covid "normalized" that behavior, so now that flu &RSV season are here, I am wearing them easily in indoor crowds. This seems to have protected me from all kinds of viruses for the past 32 months.

Yes, 7% saline plus an Aerobika has worked for me. I will never use a vest because of spinal arthritis and bone spurs. And I had to quit the antibiotics after almost 2 years because I couldn't tolerate the side effects any longer.

In addition to Bronchiectasis, I have chronic asthma and rective airways, but not eosinpholia. My pulmonologist switched me from albuterol to Symbicort which reduced both shortness of breath and chest pressure. I seldom need a neb or rescue inhaler now, even in dusty South Texas.

After diagnosis, it takes some time to figure out what works for you, so keep reading and ask questions anytime!
Have a good day.
Sue

Hi Sue,
Thank you so much for your reply and thank you for being the voluntary monitor for this group to offer help and hope which is very comforting to me.
Last Oct.  I started coughing, especially bad at night. I went to see 4 different  doctors, they could  not identify anything wrong, x-ray showed nothing.  The coughing never  went away and in Feb. this year I got pneumonia. During  pneumonia treatment,  they did a wide range of blood tests and lung function tests. The function test was normal and a CT scan in March showed pneumonia.  But cough mucus never went away, because of all the test results, doctors believe that I was healing slowly from pneumonia. But recently my condition got worse. I was out of breath while walking. And I got so much more mucus. So they did another CT scan.  This time,  it came with the bad news, I had infections in my lungs and mild bronchiectasis. I have not done another test to identify NTM yet. I might need it in the future. As you all know bronchiectasis is not going to kill us right away, but it makes us so susceptible to infections which is scary. I was so happy to  find you, living a normal life with this disease. This means so much to me. I feel like this is a new family I belong to. In this family we help one another, encourage one another and give advice to one another, and give hope to one another. Right now I am still gathering information on how to control my bronchiectasis condition and try to live a normal life as you all do.My pulmonologist asked me to use the albuterol twice a day before I use a mucus device to get mucus out. Reading your posts,  it seems that keeping the airway clean is the key to avoiding  infections, is that right?  It seems you all use Nebulised 7% hypertonic saline. And some people use smartvest. Should I start using them? I read your earlier post, you mentioned finding a bronchiectasis specialist to work with is very important. I think it is a good idea. I found a pulmonologist focusing on bronchiectasis. I will try to get an appointment with him and see what he says. But you live with this disease and know what works and what not.  I truly value your opinions. Please let me know what you think I should do at my stage. I want to live a normal life, a full life like you say.  Many thanks agaiin!
Ling