25/02/2022
WARNING: for those with weak stomachs.
This post about mucus
I thought we should post this again.
It’s a great video that explains the lungs function very well.
We have been told some amazing facts over the years that made understanding their function even easier.
We add oil to the engine in our car to lubricate pistons, valves, and other components to make sure things turn and travel smoothly and to minimise friction which reduces wear.
Secretions are produced all through our body for similar reasons.
Pancreatic secretions are enzymes which travel to the small intestines which where we absorb fat.
The lungs make mucus which lubricate the airways and keep the lungs moist.
Coughing and sneezing actually helps us to expel germs out of our airways.
People with CF a make more mucus than the aacerage person and it’s thick and sticky.
Everyone has a CFTR Membrane. It’s a protein that regulates the flow of salt and chloride ions which hydrate secretions to keep them flowing and doing their job.
People with CF a have a gene mutation that affects the CFTR.m and makes it malfunction or not work at all
It stands for Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator. So their mucus isn’t receiving hydration so it becomes thick and sticky and sticks to the walls of the lungs. Pancreatic secretions don’t flow properly in many people with CF so this causes pancreatic insufficiency.
That is why Joel has to take man made enzymes in the form of capsules before everything he eats to be able to absorb fat, proteins and carbs.
To hydrate his lungs, Joel has hypertonic saline in a nebulised every morning and night.
Joel used to do 20 mins of hypersal through a neb and then do PEP airway clearance on its own morning and night.
The affects of hypersal wouldn’t last the full duration of physio, so scientists modifified nebuliser pots so that PEP devices sit straight on top and this combines hydration and therapy, which would save people with CF 20 mins morning and night.
I did my research years ago and found out that it takes 10 mins for hypersal to fully hydrate the lungs using the standard Pari Nebuliser.
This made me realise the quickest way was t the most efficient way.
So Joel has 20 mins hypersal THEN combines PEP and hypersal.
That’s when he really started clearing mucus, and he has stuck to his regime every since.
For years I’d try to explain that even when he’s well he makes very thick and sticky mucus. So much so that you absolutely can not flick it off your finger.
I will never forget the day head when the head of Respiratory Medicine told me that they now know that the bacteria Stenotrophomonas makes people with CF produce even more thick sticky mucus.
Joel’s Dr was the only person who said to me, Tou always said that didn’t you?
I was quite sure if it too because he’d been making this thicker dirty yellow coloured gunk from about 9 or 10 years of age, and that’s when I was told he had colonised Steno.
I also used to think his mucus would turn a certain colour for a certain bug.
I wasn’t laughed at, but I received funny looks.
Well we now know that staph makes your mucus turn bright yellow.
Pseudomomas makes it turn green and Steno makes it turn a dirty yellow colour .
It’ll never forget the first time we pulled up at the new Perth children’s hospital.
There’s a Poo chart called the Bristol stool chart. It helps Drs identify level of hydration in your poo.
My first thought when I looked at OCH was it looks like a CF Sputum Colour chart 🤣🤣🤣
Well, green is my favourite colour 🤣
