{"id":754,"date":"2025-07-30T13:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T12:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/?page_id=754"},"modified":"2025-07-30T13:25:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T12:25:57","slug":"your-treatment-plan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/treatment\/your-treatment-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Your treatment plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>The treatment plan will be tailored to your specific circumstances and will also depend on how severe your bronchiectasis is.&nbsp; Your consultant or specialist nurse will also help you develop a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/153\/2025\/02\/BronchiectasisSelfManagementPlan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">self-management plan<\/a>&nbsp;for coping with your bronchiectasis at home. If you don\u2019t have one, ask for a self-management plan at your next clinic visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A wallet-sized&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/153\/2025\/02\/BronchiectasisCard.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bronchiectasis card<\/a>&nbsp;to record chest infections with advice on management, including the recommended antibiotics for chest infections, is also available.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>So what is a self-management plan?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"564\" height=\"813\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/153\/2025\/02\/Bronchiectasis-Self-Management-Front-Cover.png\" alt=\"Bronchiectasis Self Management Front Cover\" class=\"wp-image-755\" style=\"width:255px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/153\/2025\/02\/Bronchiectasis-Self-Management-Front-Cover.png 564w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/153\/2025\/02\/Bronchiectasis-Self-Management-Front-Cover-208x300.png 208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 564px) 100vw, 564px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>The aim of the self-management plan is&nbsp;to make sure you have information to be able to recognise when your bronchiectasis is getting worse, and to give you advice on what to do if this happens.&nbsp;&nbsp;We hope that this will give you the&nbsp;confidence and skills to take some control over managing your symptoms yourself and help you avoid having to be admitted to the hospital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Knowing your normal!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important that you know what your symptoms are like when you are well and not having a chest infection.&nbsp; If you know this, it will be easier to spot the changes which might mean you are getting an infection. The things to be aware of are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How often you&nbsp;cough<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How often you&nbsp;cough up sputum<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What colour your sputum is<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How much sputum you usually produce<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The condition of your sputum e.g. is it watery or sticky?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The circumstances where you become breathless e.g. walking around the house, walking up-stairs, playing sports<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And any other usual symptoms like wheezing or fatigue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your doctor or nurse will help you with these questions and make a note of the answers on your self-management plan so you can have it at home to refer back to.&nbsp; You may also want to take a photo of your self-management plan on your phone so it more readily available. Or give a copy to a family member or friend. Changes may be a sign that you are developing a chest infection.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>I\u2019ve seen&nbsp;signs of changes \u2013 what now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Clear your chest more often (at least twice a day)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take your medication and inhalers (if you have them)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drink plenty of fluids<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collect a sputum sample and hand it in to your GP as soon as possible (if you can\u2019t get the surgery that day, keep the sample in the fridge overnight)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some colds get better without needing antibiotics. \u00a0If there is no change in the colour or amount of your sputum <strong>do not start antibiotics<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Get help if you need it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For guidance of when to seek help with your bronchiectasis go to&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/treatment\/guide-when-to-seek-help\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Guide \u2013 when to seek help<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The treatment plan will be tailored to your specific circumstances and will also depend on how severe your bronchiectasis is.&nbsp; Your consultant or specialist nurse will also help you develop a&nbsp;self-management plan&nbsp;for coping with your bronchiectasis at home. If you don&rsquo;t have one, ask for a self-management plan at your next clinic visit. A wallet-sized&nbsp;bronchiectasis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":741,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-754","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"NHS Lothian","author_link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/blog\/author\/nhs-lothian\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":false,"rttpg_excerpt":"The treatment plan will be tailored to your specific circumstances and will also depend on how severe your bronchiectasis is.&nbsp; Your consultant or specialist nurse will also help you develop a&nbsp;self-management plan&nbsp;for coping with your bronchiectasis at home. If you don&rsquo;t have one, ask for a self-management plan at your next clinic visit. A wallet-sized&nbsp;bronchiectasis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1179,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/754\/revisions\/1179"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/bronchiectasis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}