Recurring chest infections

[Nicetobenice67]

Has anyone had multiple chest infections…I don’t smoke but had quite a few over the last 5 years had a chest X-ray and I’m terrified of the results next week

oh know ! How was your pneumonia treated was the other time after the pneumonia X-ray

I was in hospital for a week on oxygen, antibiotics and steroids.
Other time was a couple years later, didn't show anything

I think they usually do them to check if your chest infections have caused any inflammation or mild damage in your lungs.

Thank you …if any damages has been done because of theses chest infections can the lung repair itself ….glad your next time it didn’t show anything that’s what I’m praying for

Yes, absolutely.
It may just mean that the threshold for giving you antibiotics is lower. I now always have a set of antibiotics and steroids at home so can treat myself if I feel I'm getting worse. My GP is fantastic and always sees me within a couple hours if I ask for an appointment, but its great to have the meds as a backup for weekends and bank holidays

Wow that’s great …it’s really hard to get appointments at my drs and you literally have to beg for antibiotics I got told to take turmeric

I went to urgent care a week ago after coughing up blood for the second time this winter (my gp surgery was hard to contact). The doctor gave me antibiotics and didn’t think an x ray was necessary. But then he said you’re a busy mom let’s do an x ray to save you time in case you needed it later. The c ray was clear, showed a little infection but mostly nothing

It’s scary isn’t it coughing up blood glad you were ok I’m starting to thing all will be ok with me

Chest infections are bad enough, recurrent chest infections are even worse, meaning the type of chest infection and the cause are vital. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pneumonia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354204 & https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4471-pneumonia Also, it's important to know what causes it to repeat. Is this normal? WHO said in 2020 for any unusual health problem, covid should be taken into account (past infections, not necessarily current). Recurrent pneumonia isn't normal: ''Recurrent pneumonia most commonly occurs in patients with underlying lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchiectasis, immunocompromised patients, and those with a local obstructive process such as a tumor''. I assume the cause needs investigating. ''https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7352096/ ''Recurrent pneumonia in a patient with new coronavirus infection after discharge from hospital for insufficient antibody production''- these are just a few examples, I don't mean to scare you, just inform you,these examples only prove how important it is to name the type of chest infection, find out what caused it and also find out what causes the recurrence. It's basic medicine.

Have they taken a sputum sample to see what bacteria it is? It might be they are prescribing the wrong antibiotics and not for a long enough course.

You could also have pneumonia which isn't being treated. I have a lung condition and was treated for chest infections that never cleared before diagnosis. Not long after my last course I was sent to hospital and was found to have pneumonia.

Hopefully the X-ray will be clear, and if it is and you keep getting them ask for a CT scan as that can pick up underlying issues and X-ray can't.

Chest infection = pneumonia. It can be either bronchitis or pneumonia. If they treat it with antibiotics, they treat it as pneumonia. Bronchitis is viral. Pneumonia can be viral too, especially covid pneumonia, affecting millions in the last 4 years all throughout the world. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24002-covid-pneumonia Finding the cause of 'chest infection' is basic medicine. It's like going to the dentist to be treated for tooth decay, without the dentist finding out where the decay actually is.

If by chest infection, they mean bronchitis, you need to find out the risks https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/copd/symptoms-causes/syc-20353679 ''Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two most common conditions that contribute to COPD'' - this is why it is so important to find out what type of chest infection it is. It doesn't mean this is your case, but I assume it is important to find out the cause of recurrent chest infections and the type

I had rounds and rounds of chest infections and after I got and recovered from pneumonia, which seemed to take eons, I went to see a private consultant who was able to diagnose bronchiectasis with a CT scan.

With that diagnosis I've been able to get far more help from my regular gp surgery when things get worse. Consequently, my quality of life this winter compared to the last has been chalk and cheese. There's a point where you can be too accepting of poor health and it's worth pushing for more investigation.

Thank you so much appreciated your reply ....I had pneumonia and now having blood test to find out why I keep getting chest infections

What is the blood test for, what do they test you for? What tests did they do for every chest infection?Did they find out if it was viral or bacterial? Mayo Clinic: ''Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus (purulent material), causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. A variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, can cause pneumonia''- did they find out what caused pneumonia every time? How can a blood test find out why you get chest infections, what kind of blood test is it?

They are testing for diabetes and liver function....its the first time I've had a chest xray and blood tests ...this chest infection lasted 3 months as the dr kept on saying take turmeric and would not give me antibiotics...after time I got chest pains and coughing up blood I demanded to see another Dr and she gave me antibiotics chest xray and blood tests...got blood test next week

I know this is an older post but did you ever find out what was happening? This is me currently. 4th pneumonia in 3 years and no one can seem to tell me why I keep catching it every winter.