Because NTM infections can permanently damage lung tissue, which leads to decreased lung function, respiratory therapists can also be valuable assets in the fight against NTM lung disease. They will be able to assess your abilities and needs as a patient and, working with your other doctors, develop recommended courses of therapy including exercise and airway clearance to help clear mucus from the lungs.
Some patients feel discouraged when doing these therapies because they do not feel as though it is helping to clear mucus from the lungs. If you feel this way, talk to your doctors and therapists. It might be that you are clearing the mucus, and are swallowing it instead of coughing it out. Either way, the most important thing is to clear those airways!
Click here to read more on the importance of airway clearance.
