Diet taboos for bronchiectasis

Identify allergenic foods that can cause coughing, sputum, and hemoptysis, high-salt, spicy, and hot foods that can irritate the airway mucosa, and gas-producing foods that can squeeze the chest and affect breathing.； There is no absolute “no-no” list, and individual tolerance takes precedence over general contraindications.

Don’t believe it. I met Aunt Wang who has been suffering from bronchiectasis for 12 years in the respiratory clinic. She usually has stricter food taboos than diabetics. She dare not touch eggs and milk, and she will not touch seafood and mutton. Last time, my daughter brought her a braised duck head from an Internet celebrity. She tasted half of it because there was not much red oil, and she coughed up half a mouthful in the middle of the night. Blood, when you come to the emergency department for a CT scan, you will see congestion and edema of the airway mucosa - the airways of patients with bronchiectasis are originally like old water pipes with pits on the inner wall, and their clearing ability is much worse than that of ordinary people. When stimulated by high salt and spicy food, mucosal secretions increase instantly and become blocked in the dilated tracheal folds, which can easily break fragile blood vessels and cause bleeding. Not only braised food, but also heavy foods such as spicy hot pot, freshly fried skewers, and marinated fish and bacon, it is best not to touch them even during the stable period. If you have a severe cough and phlegm during the acute infection period, don't touch it at all.

The most controversial aspect of the bronchiectasis diet is definitely the issue of "should we avoid eating food?" According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, fishy and smelly foods such as seafood, mutton, and Chinese toon will aggravate lung heat and induce coughing up phlegm and blood. Many veteran Chinese doctors will advise patients to avoid these foods. ； However, there is actually no concept of "fat food" in the clinical guidelines of modern respiratory medicine. As long as you are not allergic to this type of food and do not have aggravated coughing or chest tightness after eating it, you can eat it normally. I once met a young man in his 20s with bronchiectasis. He grew up on the beach and ate seafood since he was a child. After he was diagnosed with bronchiectasis, he continued to steam sea bass and boiled shrimps. His lung function was very stable when he was reviewed every year. On the contrary, he had far fewer infections than those skinny and skinny patients who were blind to food. After all, sufficient protein intake can help repair the airway mucosa. Once the immunity is improved, the probability of infection will naturally be lower.

There is another point that many people tend to overlook: it is best to eat less foods that easily produce gas. For example, sweet potatoes, a lot of beans, and carbonated drinks. Last time, an uncle drank two bottles of iced Coke while drinking skewers with his friends in the summer. His stomach was bulging, and his diaphragm pushed up to his lungs. It was already difficult to cough up phlegm, but now the phlegm was blocked in the airway and could not be coughed out. He almost had to be sent to the emergency room for hypoxia. If you have symptoms of chest tightness and difficulty breathing, it is best to weigh and weigh this type of food before eating it.

If you usually have a lot of phlegm and are often found to be colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it is best to avoid cold cold dishes, undercooked sashimi, and iced milk tea. These foods are easy to carry bacteria, and the airway defense of patients with bronchiectasis is poor. If they eat bad food and have diarrhea, their immunity will drop, which can easily induce lung infections. Previously, a young man drank two cups of iced milk tea and had diarrhea for two days, and then he coughed up yellow pus and phlegm and had a fever. He had to stay in the hospital for a week.

To be honest, there are really not so many rigid rules when it comes to diet for bronchiectasis. You can keep a simple food diary by yourself. If you cough up more phlegm or even cough up blood after eating something on a certain day, just avoid it next time. You don’t have to compare it one by one with the general list on the Internet. After all, everyone’s physique is very different, and taboos that are suitable for others may not be suitable for you. If you are really not sure whether you can eat it, just ask a respiratory or nutrition doctor. It is much better than blindly restricting food and ending up with malnutrition and weakening your immunity.