What are the treatments for bronchiectasis?

What are the treatments for bronchiectasis?

Bronchiectasis cannot be cured, but it can be managed. Your doctor might prescribe medication, the use of certain devices, or a combination of these methods and possibly others.

If bronchiectasis is caused by an underlying condition, like aspergillosis or an immune system disease, then that condition must be treated first.

Treatment choices might include medications, such as:

• Antibiotics, drugs used to treat bacterial infections. These include oral (pill) forms and inhaled forms (breathed in using a nebulizer machine).
• Macrolides, drugs used to treat infections and inflammations at the same time.
• Drugs that affect mucus and help you cough the mucus out.

Treatment might also include:

• Airway clearance devices to break up mucus and help you cough it out
  • Positive expiratory pressure (PEP) devices that you can hold in your hands
  • Percussive devices like vests you can wear
  • Physical therapy moves like chest clapping to help move mucus out of the body

In addition, bronchiectasis treatment is broken down further by what stage you are in: there are things that you do daily (maintenance) and things that you do when you are having an exacerbation (worsening).