🍂 FALL ALLERGIES OR BRONCHIECTASIS  FLARE-UPS?  KNOW THE DIFFERENCE! 🫁💚

Fall brings beautiful foliage, but it also brings airborne irritants that can trigger respiratory symptoms.

For our BNTM community, it can be difficult to tell whether that persistent cough is caused by fall allergies or a respiratory infection. 

 HOW CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE?

🌿 MORE LIKELY TO BE FALL ALLERGIES:
✅ Sneezing and a runny or stuffy nose
✅ Itchy, watery eyes
✅ Itchy throat or frequent throat clearing
✅ Symptoms that worsen outdoors or around damp leaves
✅ Symptoms that improve when you move indoors

Possible EXACERBATION:
⚠️ Increased coughing compared with your usual baseline
⚠️ More sputum than usual
⚠️ Changes in sputum thickness, consistency, or color
⚠️ Increased shortness of breath or wheezing
⚠️ Unusual fatigue or reduced ability to perform everyday activities

🌡️ IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:
• You can have a respiratory infection without a fever.
• Clear sputum does not rule out an infection.
• Allergies can aggravate existing respiratory symptoms, and allergies and infection can occur together.

WHAT CAN BNTM PATIENTS DO?

🍁 Monitor changes from your normal respiratory baseline.

🍁 Check local pollen and mold levels.

🍁 Avoid disturbing piles of damp leaves, which can release mold spores.

🍁 Follow your prescribed airway-clearance routine.

🍁 Contact your healthcare provider if your cough, sputum, breathing, or energy level changes 

Don’t automatically blame every fall cough on allergies! Knowing your baseline and recognizing changes can help you take action when it matters.

Have you noticed your respiratory symptoms changing with the fall weather? What helps you manage seasonal triggers? Please share your experiences below. Thank you in advance.😍