Does reducing exposure to Mycobacteria ( NTM) work?

@linda1334
I am obviously not Sue, but I use 2 kinds of masks depending on the situation: inexpensive KN-95s I stash in every bag and pocket I own, just in case I find myself indoors with others: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QGV3C8N

...and the fancier more expensive IQ Air KN95/FFP2 I use when I know I'm going somewhere high risk, such as my swing dance classes. They're less portable but higher quality: https://www.iqair.com/us/products/air-purifiers/kn95-ffp2-face-mask

I keep baskets of each near my front door so I don't forget them.

@cholash I was nebbing twice a day in the beginning, plus walking, which I find very helpful in bringing up mucus. Then in a video I saw Dr. Winthrop say he thinks exercise is more important than a second nebulizing session. So when I had trouble fitting it all in I’d skip the second nebbing session, which didn’t seem to make much (if any) difference. I eventually settled on one session per day.
My CT scans have been relatively stable since my diagnosis in 2022, and MAC only shows up in an occassional sputum sample, so I was on watch and wait. But this year Dr. W looked again at the older scans and said, although it’s slow, there is a decline over time and advised treatment. I’m now on daily azithromycin and ethambutol for a year. Within three weeks my cough was gone and almost no mucus. He said while I’m on treatment I can nebulize every other day, so that’s what I’ve been doing. One day though, I was doing some yard clean-up without a mask. It was dry and a bit breezy and I started coughing, so I came in and nebulized. Going for that ounce of prevention!

@linda1334 I use 3M N95 masks, specifically the Aura 9205+, which I buy in quantity for under $1.00 apiece through the official 3M store on Amazon. These are NIOSH certified, comfortable (for a non-vented mask) and affordable. When available, we buy a huge box of 440 individually packaged masks - about a 2 year supply for my husband, friends and me.

@bronchiectasaurus, I wonder when you nebulize once a day, do you get more mucus out when nebulizing? I imagine you would accumulate mucus more by doing so. Or do you do aerobika without nebulizing once a day?

Thanks for sharing.
Ling

@wangling The Pari eRapid is more intense than my previous system. It’s possible I produce more sputum with it but I haven’t systematically measured. Using it more than once a day feels like too much. I asked a specialist at an e seminar if it was ever possible to nebulize too much hypertonic saline and she replied yes. I was a little worried my lungs or throat might bleed, they felt so oddly “stripped”. So I cut back to once a day and feel fine. That’s all I know.

@bronchiectasaurus, Thank you so much. I heard people complain that there is 1 lm of saline left by using eflow. Is that the same case with you? Are you able to breathe in all the 4 lm?
I also want to buy one to save time.

Thanks again.
Ling

This is great information, thanks for sharing .