Self-management

• Self-management is an important part of the care of any chronic condition, including bronchiectasis.
• Patients have told us that having information about bronchiectasis is important in learning how to manage your condition.
• Developing the skills needed to recognise changes and act on them is something that you will become more confident with over time as you begin to see patterns in how your symptoms change.
• This does not mean that you will have to manage bronchiectasis by yourself, but that you can take back some control over your body and your health and can play a role in managing your condition in partnership with your medical team. This may include having an ‘emergency’ pack of antibiotics at home that you are able to take when you recognise the signs that you are having an exacerbation or chest infection. This is often very useful, particularly if you have difficulty getting a GP appointment quickly, or for example, if you are unwell well you are on holiday.

 

The British Thoracic Society also have a simple ‘self-management tool’ (Word doc) for bronchiectasis.

"It depends, I suppose, but I would say that I judge the severity of the infection with the colour of the phlegm, and then I would take a sample to the doctors and…I start taking...what they call a sort of rescue pack (of antibiotics)." Jean, 76