Gardening with Bronch and MAC

Hi there was a post one day about MAC and dental visits. I am scheduled soon to have my teeth cleaned so what can you do to prevent being exposed to Mac - can you suggest bottled water to spray with. I wonder if and how often they clean the water tanks? I did not think about it before but now I am very concerned. Has anybody have any ideas?

Is this the post you are looking for?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dental-care-and-mac/
Sue

I’m also a gardener and hopeful wearing an N95 will be enough

What organism did your culture grow out? I’m thinking if fungus vs bacteria wondering if another strategy may help

And good gloves - so if you have any nicks or cuts, you keep organisms out. Also remove gardening shoes before entering the house and remove garden clothes before sitting on the furniture. Wash the gloves and clothes frequently.
Another note - taught years ago by our allergist - shower after being out in the yard and garden to remove pollen and other stuff. And don't wear your outdoor shoes/boots indoors - that keeps even more dirt, pollen, etc out - we change our outdoor shoes for indoor ones at the door, and use washable rugs there.
Sue

Airway clearance, think of it like flossing your teeth, this is lung hygiene and should be part of our daily routine - forever. I am with you, pretty new to this diagnosis. After a second opinion, pulmonologist came to the same conclusion, that it’s not the time to go on antibiotics, I told him my family who are physicians are going to be dismayed that we are not going to treat. This second pulmonologist said, tell them you are treating. The precautions you are taking, and the airway clearance practices are the front line of treatment. Further, he said about 1/3 of us will remain stable, 2/3 will have disease progression. Of the 1/3, a tiny sliver of these will clear the infection spontaneously. I am exactly at a year since diagnosis by a qualified pulmonologist began. It’s been an intensive investigative year and I’m only just now finding comfort in my level of knowledge and understanding. You’ve found this great source of wonderfully moderated info share, (thank you @sueinmn !) We all wish we weren’t here but hopefulness and sharing supportive actions keep us all coming back.

I had 3 months AFB negative report before May but At May 25th I had tooth cleaning done. Then I collected sputum sample at end of May and sent it to lab on June 2nd. At middle of July my pulmonologist called me and said my June 2nd sputum AFB culture positive again. After read several MAC lung disease connections members I started thinking my June 2nd AFB positive very possible had something to do with dental work.My next dental appointment will be Nov. 27. I may better cancel it, wait a while and think what to do in the future.

I am only a year into this and so far my only treatment is airway clearance (with nebulizing) and currently in a clinical trial for clofazamine, so definitely not an expert, but my understanding is that MAC is slow growing so I would question whether a positive sputum sample taken just one week after the dental cleaning is directly related. Most likely a coincidence? It's always good to ask your doctor.
Anna

Yes all good I’ve been doing but the N95 will be new addition. The shoes and dogs paws drive me crazy because I’m the only one thinking of not wanting to bring outdoors inside.

Thanks!