Hi everyone... I know this is a strange question, but I have to ask it. How long can a mucus sample be outside the body and still be culturable? I mean, do the bacteria die once they leave the body or will they still live? The reason I ask is because my daughter has been having so many sinus infections and we can't figure out what to do for her. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and has already had 2 more infections and is working on one now. When she goes to clinic they can never get a mucus sample for culturing, neither from her lungs or her sinuses. But when we do nasal washes here we get huge chunks of stuff out. I was wondering if it would be possible to actually save one and bring it to clinic or if the bacteria would be dead by then and it would be pointless... Sorry if this sounds really strange... I feel kind of dumb asking, but I am not sure what I should do. Thanks.
Oh, by the way, when I say they can't ever get a sample I mean an actual mucus sample she coughs up...they still do throat cultures but they'd prefer to actually have something she coughs up, but she isn't able to do that just yet. Thanks again!
Oh, by the way, when I say they can't ever get a sample I mean an actual mucus sample she coughs up...they still do throat cultures but they'd prefer to actually have something she coughs up, but she isn't able to do that just yet. Thanks again!