MORE INFORMATION
Bronchiectasis Symptoms
The initial airway damage that leads to bronchiectasis often begins in childhood. However, symptoms may not appear until months or even years after you start having repeated lung infections.
The most common symptoms of bronchiectasis are:
- A daily cough that occurs over months or years
- Daily production of large amounts of sputum (spit), which you cough up and which may have mucus, trapped particles, and pus
- Shortness of breath and wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe)
- Chest pain
- Clubbing (the flesh under your fingernails and toenails gets thicker, causing the nails to curve downward)
If your doctor listens to your lungs with a stethoscope, he or she may hear abnormal lung sounds.
Over time, you may have more serious symptoms. You may cough up blood or bloody mucus and feel very tired. Children may lose weight or not grow at a normal rate