How can you get rid of phlegm?!
Question: I have severe Asthma and also chronic Bronchitis.....I have even been diagnosed with COPD by one Doctor however the other Dr. disagrees with him ans says that I do not have COPD but both the Asthma and chronic Bronchitis and also an air wave disease.Is this not COPD? I hope there are some Drs. or Nurses out there that can help me with this! A question I have is HOW DO I GET RID OF ALL THE PHLEGM? HOW DO I GET IT OUT? The Dr. who claims I have COPD is an MD. The Dr. who claims I do not have COPD is a Lung Specialist. Who should I believe?
Answers: I have severe Asthma and also chronic Bronchitis.....I have even been diagnosed with COPD by one Doctor however the other Dr. disagrees with him ans says that I do not have COPD but both the Asthma and chronic Bronchitis and also an air wave disease.Is this not COPD? I hope there are some Drs. or Nurses out there that can help me with this! A question I have is HOW DO I GET RID OF ALL THE PHLEGM? HOW DO I GET IT OUT? The Dr. who claims I have COPD is an MD. The Dr. who claims I do not have COPD is a Lung Specialist. Who should I believe?
How about a Respiratory therapist?? Will that do?
COPD is a general lable that covers a lot of lung diseases, including but not limited to
Asthma
Chronic Bronchitis
Emphysema
Asbestosis
and a few others as well....
You apparently have 2 doctors, one who is a general practioner, and the other is a pulmonary doctor. IF y ou have a pulmonary doctor, I would listen to him...However, I have had experience with a doctor who claimed to be a "lung specialist" but was very questionable in his practices....to the point that the hospital refused to allow him to practice in thier hospital....Make sure your "lung specialist" is a Pulmonary Doctor and then listen to him.
Now, as to "getting the phlegm out", there are a couple of ways that you can do it.
Way #1 [also known as the least expensive way and not sure way] Get a room humidifer for about $30-60. Use it to thin those secretions and drink a lot of water- 8-10 glasses per day...in addition to all the other fluids that you NORMALLY drink...Problem- heavey mist makes the air heavey to breath. Not all asthmatics can do this.
Way #2[also known as the way of the doctor] Choose one of your doctors, and ask for "bronchodialators", aka Albuterol or Combivent inhalors. It will open up the airways and make coughing up the phlegm easier. Problem- It will cost you the inhaler WITH a spacer and a doctor visit. Kinda spendy without insurance.
Way #3 [also know as a sure way to relieving your asthma attack] Visit a doctor, ask for a NEBULIZER with the drugs of Albuteror or Duoneb OR Xopenex. I suggest Duoneb. Problem- While it will relieve the phlegm problem, it is the spendy-ist. But you will feel SSOOOOOOoo much better.
If we could answer your question, we'd have more or less cured you.
Sorry, but only a doctor can offer you treatment options, since one of the primary symptoms of bronchitis is phlem, and the main cause of COPD is fluid on the lungs.
I really feel for you and wish you all the very best.
i also have asthma but not the bronchitis but when i get phlegm i
just force coughs until it finally comes out and i mean really forcing the cough
Drinking water will help break up mucous and allow you to expectorate(cough) it.
Let the two doctors discuss your problem and exchange their point of views to give the best care
You really cant get rid of all the phlegm...your body's goblet cells constantly produce it, they best ways to break up the secretions are:
1. to drink plenty of water,
2. if prescribed bronchodialators(opens the airways) like albuterol, atrovent or xopenex(if youre allergic to peanuts do not use atrovent since its derived from peanuts), they also may prescribe you a corticosteroid like advair or pulmicort(make sure you rinse your mouth out if you take anly oral steroids as they can give you oral thrush).
3. Another thing you can do is have someone like your husband or daughter or someone perform CPT(chest physiotherapy) basically the manual way a respiratory therapist does this is with a face mask cupped in the hand or with their bare hands cuffed. and they beat on your back, its more like a massage actually, but this will loosen up the secretions.
4. You can also sleep in different positions at night to drain the secretions...since you probably dont have a bed that adjusts positions you can accomplish this with pillows...place a pillow under your pelvic area and sleep on your back(supine) or belly(prone) the pillow allows gravity to naturally pull the secretions upward. hope these help.
Oh and as for the proper diagnosis, get a PFT (hopefully the lung specialist had you do this to explain why he said you dont have copd) and be very compliant bc this is the best way to tell if you have a resrictive process like asthma or an obstructive process like copd and they take into considerations your height are race, if youve ever been exposed to absestos, etc. But if i were you id probably listen to the specialist...quite a few general practioners do not know how to diagnose respiratory diseases such as asthma and copd properly.
I have Cystic Fibrosis and have the same issue with phlegm. Their are numerous ways to help get the mucus out.
You could have someone perform Chest PT on you. Where they would cup their hands and clap on your back, chest, and sides (should make a pop sound, not a clap) while laying in a slant position. You could pile some pillows under yourself to make a slant effect.
Another way that you could do on your own is a coughing exercise called Huff Coughing. Inhale slowly using your diaphragm. Hold for three seconds, lift chin, and release air slowly while saying Huff. Repeat this step three times. Then Inhale slowly with diaphragm, hold for three seconds, lift chin and release forcefully but not violently while saying Huff. The smaller huffs allow for the mucus to work it's way up, while the larger huff will release the mucus. This helps bring the mucus out without being too hard on your lungs. Continue the exercise for about 15 minutes. May seem silly but it works. :).
Hope this helps and you get an accurate diagnosis soon. :)