My Daily Regimen

There are many different treatments that I have been doing recently and they all have helped me so much. Before my strict regimen, I would cough almost all the time and I would produce large amounts of mucous. That does not sound like a big deal but as a woman, I found it really gross and hard to deal with. When I was a kid I was always teased for my cough (the other kids never truly understood why I coughed) but it made it hard for me to go through daily life. I would try and hold in my cough, which would cause the mucous to build and brew infection. With the treatments, my cough has decreased a whole ton and I do not produce as much mucous. This also helps in my air clearing, so I can breathe a lot better. I know this might all sound gross, but this is my life so feel free to keep reading.

My personal nebulizer system by Vios PRO

This is my current regimen:

I do three different nebulizer treatments twice a day. I use Albuterol, Sodium Chloride, and Tobramycin currently. Each one is done separately and each one takes about 15 minutes.

Albuterol:

This is a bronchodilator and it does exactly what it sounds like it does. It relaxes muscles, which opens up my airways. This treatment is done first to open up my lungs so I can start getting the mucous out.

Sodium Chloride:

This is also called saline. All this does is help me produce the mucous to cough it up. It makes me cough oh so much which sucks but it is necessary for my treatment. The best thing for me to do is cough up as much as I can in the morning, so the rest of the day I do not have to cough as much. When doing the Sodium Chloride treatment, I also use something called the vest.

My personal Vest system by HillRom

In my header photo on the home page, I am wearing the vest. Basically you wear the vest and attach it to a machine and it shakes you. The purpose of this chest therapy is to knock the mucous loose from my lungs so I am able to cough it out. This is a very effective method and I try to do it as often as possible.

When I cannot use the vest, I attach something called a flutter valve to the end of my breathing head on the nebulizer. This flutter valve creates resistance as I inhale and exhale. It almost sounds like a humming bird fluttering its wings, which explains the name.

My attachable flutter valve by Aerobika

Tobramycin:

This is the nebulizer treatment I do last. It is important that I get up as much mucous as I can before doing this treatment. The goal is to keep this treatment in my lungs, because this is used to stop the growth of bacteria. This medicine keeps my lungs gunk free, which is super important.

These treatments and systems all work very well for me. Although it can feel time consuming, it is well worth it. I have only been doing this for a few weeks now and I feel like a whole new person. Remember to take time out of your day everyday to take care of yourself.

Take care of yourself so you can take care of others.