Do You Have These Symptoms of Bronchiectasis?

If you’ve been experiencing persistent respiratory symptoms for weeks on end — whether you’ve already been diagnosed with a chronic lung condition or not — it’s important to see our team at Fivestar Pulmonary Associates to find out what’s going on. 

Figuring out what’s triggering your persistent cough, making you gasp for air, weighing on your chest, and leaving you feeling exhausted is the first step toward easier breathing. 

And if the problem happens to be bronchiectasis, diagnosis is also the first step toward halting continued, irreversible lung damage. Let’s take a closer look at this common (yet little-known) condition, including tell-tale symptoms that call for expert evaluation ASAP. 

Bronchiectasis explained 

Each time you inhale, oxygen travels within your lungs through airways called bronchi. If you have bronchiectasis, the walls of these airways become permanently widened and damaged, making it difficult to clear mucus (and germs) from your airways. 

Airway mucus is protective

Your airways produce mucus (phlegm) as a protective response to irritation and infection. The thick, sticky substance traps germs and foreign particles, so you can expel them more easily when you cough or sneeze. 

Damaged cilia can’t move mucus

Your bronchi are lined with tiny, hair-like structures (cilia), which help move mucus out of your airways. With bronchiectasis, damage to the airway — and the resulting scarring and thickening — impairs cilia and prevents them from functioning normally. 

When airway mucus accumulates

As mucus builds up in your lungs, it traps foreign particles and becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. This sets the stage for a vicious, ongoing cycle of infection, inflammation, and further lung damage. 

How bronchiectasis happens

Bronchiectasis arises through two stages of airway damage. First, the initial trauma — or “insult” damage — is inflicted by a respiratory infection, inflammatory disorder, or other lung-affecting condition. Specific causes of bronchiectasis include:

• Cystic fibrosis; primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD)
• Inflammatory lung disease (e.g., asthma, COPD)
• Recurrent lung infection (e.g., pneumonia, tuberculosis) 
• Autoimmune disorders (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis)
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD or chronic acid reflux)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis)
• Immunodeficiency disorders (e.g., CVID, HIV, diabetes) 
• Chronic pulmonary aspiration (swallowing difficulties)

This first “insult” sets the stage for the second stage of bronchiectasis, or the vicious cycle of recurrent inflammation, infection, and lung damage. In two in five cases (40%), doctors can’t pinpoint the initial “insult” cause of bronchiectasis. 

Bronchiectasis can also be congenital, emerging in infancy or early childhood as a result of genetic factors that affect fetal lung formation in utero. 

Symptoms of bronchiectasis

Bronchiectasis can occur in certain airways or throughout your lungs. More widespread damage equates to more advanced disease and more severe or frequent symptoms. The main symptoms of bronchiectasis are:

1. Chronic cough

A daily persistent cough that lasts for at least eight weeks is the hallmark symptom of bronchiectasis. 

2. Excess mucus

The condition also typically causes daily production of large amounts of sputum — or a mixture of saliva, fluid from the lungs, pus, and mucus — that’s expelled through coughing. Phlegm may be clear, white, yellow, or green, and it may have a foul odor. You may also cough up blood.

3. Respiratory distress

Bronchiectasis can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, and wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe). You may also hear other noises in your lungs when you breathe, such as crackling sounds or high-pitched squeaks. 

4. Repeated illness

Having repeated colds (respiratory illness) and/or frequent chest infections, where your symptoms gradually worsen for a few days or weeks, making you feel generally unwell. 

Bronchiectasis flare-ups

Bronchiectasis symptoms can take months or years to develop, but once they appear, they tend to worsen gradually without intervention. Even so, it’s normal to have stretches of time when symptoms aren’t as bad, followed by periods of worsening symptoms. 

During these exacerbations, you experience a flare-up or intensification of the condition’s main symptoms, along with:

• Fever, chills
• Extreme fatigue
• Night sweats
• Breathlessness 

Bronchiectasis is also associated with nail clubbing (swollen fingertips with curved nails), unintentional weight loss, and chronic bad breath (halitosis). 

Expert respiratory evaluation

Up to half a million adults in the United States have bronchiectasis, but experts believe many more people are living with the condition unaware. The condition may not cause symptoms early on. But when it does, it’s also causing lung damage — and the damage won’t stop without treatment. 

Schedule an evaluation with our team if:

• You have a long-lasting cough 
• Your cough routinely expels mucus 
• You have any respiratory distress

Even if you’ve never been diagnosed with a respiratory condition, these symptoms warrant a prompt evaluation with our team. And if you do have a condition like COPD or asthma that isn’t well-controlled by your treatment plan, a bronchiectasis evaluation is also in order. 

Are you dealing with a chronic productive cough? Our board-certified pulmonologists can get you the answers and treatment you need to protect your health. Schedule an appointment at Fivestar Pulmonary Associates in Allen, McKinney, or Plano, Texas, today.