As well as assessing your symptoms, past medical history and childhood history, the healthcare practitioner will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope for any abnormal sounds. The main test to diagnose bronchiectasis is a high resolution CT scan of your chest.
Other tests may include:
• A chest X-ray
• Spirometry (breathing) test
• Blood tests - to check your immune system
• Sputum (phlegm) tests – to test for bacteria
There are a number of treatments to manage the symptoms of bronchiectasis. Some of these include techniques to clear the phlegm from your chest, antibiotics, managing breathlessness and vaccinations.
For more information, read and download the ‘Living with Bronchiectasis – things to know’ and other resources here.
This comprehensive ‘checklist’ is for adults with bronchiectasis. It contains information that will help you manage and understand your bronchiectasis symptoms.
This self-management plan is for adults with bronchiectasis and is to be completed by healthcare practitioners, together with their patients. It helps you to recognise your symptoms and what to do to manage them by following a simple step-wise ‘traffic light’ action plan.
A quick reference guide for managing breathlessness. Available in English, te reo Māori and Samoan.
