Managing bronchiectasis

A bronchiectasis self-management plan includes personalised advice about your bronchiectasis, including information about your symptoms, treatments, management, lifestyle and flare-ups (exacerbations).

It can also help you recognise early symptoms of flare-ups and treat them quickly. 

You and your healthcare professional can create a self-management plan together.

Find out more about bronchiectasis self-management plans, including a free plan and more information about how to use it. 

Regular reviews can help you manage your bronchiectasis symptoms and make sure your self-management plan stays up to date. You should see your healthcare professional to review your bronchiectasis at least once a year.

We know that sometimes it can be difficult to speak to your GP. We have helpful advice about getting a GP appointment, with information that could help you book your review, even if you usually have them at a hospital or with a specialist team.

You can also call our helpline team, who are trained to give you advice on all aspects of living with a lung condition.

Managing your cough

We know that living with a long-term cough can affect all aspects of your life, from your social life to your sleep.

There is help available. Let’s Talk About Cough has created a pocket book for people living with a long-term cough. It includes advice and anecdotes from other people living with long-term coughs, as well as helpful tips about managing a cough.  

Managing bladder leaks (incontinence)

Living with a condition that causes you to cough, such as bronchiectasis, can sometimes put extra pressure on the muscles in your bladder, bottom and pelvic floor. Because of this, you might find that you pee when coughing or laughing. This is called incontinence.

You can manage incontinence: 

• The NHS has more information about managing incontinence, including pelvic floor exercises you can try and how healthcare professionals can help.
• Bladder and Bowel UK has more help for people with bladder or bowel conditions, including incontinence.

Managing breathlessness

If your bronchiectasis is causing long-term breathlessness, breathing techniques can help. Lots of people find these techniques help them feel more in control of their breathing.

We have more information about managing breathlessness, including techniques, positions and videos to help.

Managing your energy levels

There are things you can do to help save your energy and manage fatigue (feeling extremely tired).

For example, you might find the three Ps principle useful. You could save energy if you can learn to pace, plan and prioritise your activities.  

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists has more information about managing your energy levels. This includes advice about doing everyday tasks like washing, dressing and cooking.

Keep active

Regular physical activity has a lot of health benefits and can help you manage bronchiectasis symptoms like breathlessness. Keeping active can also help clear phlegm (sputum) from your lungs.  

We have more information about staying active with a lung condition, including our Keep Active programme for people with lung conditions.  

Eat a healthy diet

A well-balanced diet with the right vitamins and minerals can help you to stay well. It can also help you prevent chest infections and keep your lungs healthy. 

If you have bronchiectasis, it’s also important to eat a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight because: 

• Some people with bronchiectasis lose weight without meaning to. For example, because eating makes you feel breathless, or you find it difficult to shop and prepare meals. Being underweight can increase your risk of infections.
• Being overweight could make your breathlessness worse. 

If you need support with healthy eating or your weight, your GP might also be able to refer you to a dietitian. Find out more about healthy eating and weight for people with lung conditions. 

Joining a pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) course can also help you learn more about healthy eating. 

Stay hydrated

Drinking a lot of fluids like water can stop your phlegm (sputum) from becoming thick and sticky. Staying hydrated helps keep your airways moist and slippery, so it’s easier to cough up phlegm.

Find out more about staying hydrated, including the best drinks to have.

Stop smoking

If you smoke, stopping is the one of the best things you can do for your health. 

It’s easier to quit smoking with the right help. We have a lot of advice and support to help you stop smoking, including information about vaping.

Understand things that make your bronchiectasis worse

It’s also a good idea to understand anything that can make your bronchiectasis worse. You might call these bronchiectasis triggers. These can include: 

• respiratory infections, like colds, flu, COVID-19 or respiratory syncytial virus, pneumonia and chest infections
• indoor air pollution and allergies, for example damp, mould or scented cleaning products
• smoking and vaping
• outdoor air pollution
• pollen and hay fever
• cold weather
• hot weather.

Help with your lifestyle

Whether you need help fitting your treatment into your daily life or want advice about working and socialising with bronchiectasis, we can help.  

We have advice about all aspects of living with a lung condition: 

• Working with a lung condition, including how to ask for reasonable adjustments or time off work.
• Welfare benefits, for people that are retired, unable to work because of their lung condition, or on a low income.
• Emotions and mental health, for anybody who needs support to manage their emotions and feelings.
• Financial support for working people, including advice about everyday costs like prescriptions, food and energy.
• Help with your sleep, including positions that might help you sleep if your symptoms are keeping you awake.
• Sex and relationships, including going on dates with a lung condition, positions that could help you feel less out of breath during sex and advice about sex and medications.

Living with bronchiectasis can be hard sometimes. You may find speaking to other people with bronchiectasis useful. Join one of our support groups or our Health Unlocked forum to connect with other people with similar experiences to you.   

You can also get advice and support from our helpline. We have a team of specialist respiratory nurses and healthcare advisors that are here to talk about any questions and concerns you might have and give you advice on a wide range of topics, like work, education or socialising.

You can speak to our helpline by calling 0300 222 5800. 

End of life care

If your bronchiectasis is mild and your symptoms are well controlled, bronchiectasis should not impact your life expectancy. However, bronchiectasis can affect your life expectancy if it's more severe or uncontrolled.  

There’s a lot of different factors that can make your bronchiectasis more severe, so it’s best to speak to your healthcare professional about how severe your bronchiectasis is.

If you have more severe bronchiectasis, it’s important to think about things like what care you’d like and where you'd like to be treated if your condition gets worse. You can also talk to your healthcare professional about longer-term treatments.

Thinking about the end of your life can be very difficult, but it can be comforting to know that you’re helping your family and the people caring for you to understand your wishes.

This is called advanced care planning (ACP). We have more advice about advance care planning and taking control of your choices.

Support for carers

If you look after someone with bronchiectasis, you may need support of your own. You might feel anxious, frustrated or stressed. These emotions are understandable. Talk about your worries with the person you care for, with their healthcare team, or with family and friends.

If you care for a family member or partner, it is important to continue to enjoy things together and for the person with bronchiectasis to keep as active and independent as they can. Read our more detailed information for carers.