Ok i have a question.. my son is 3 and has been on oral antibotics quite a bit lately for coughing.. when he's on the antibotic the cough goes away but when the antibiotics are gone he starts the coughing again... is it possible to grow something in your lungs but not show up on the throat culture???? if so then what kinda tests would they do to find out?????? Any thoughts??? Thanks, Melissa
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Emily65Roses
New member
I don't know what kind of tests they can do to find out, but it's very possible to be growing something that doesn't show up on the culture.
Wouldn't they do a sputum culture for that? I was also told each time you cough the sputum comes form a different place in your lungs. So if you culture a bacteria in one vicinity and you cough again may come from a different spot so the bacteria may not be there. That is why we don't culture psudomonas and other bacteria all the time. Eva
When we go to the cf clinic they do sputum cultures.. and every so often his pediatritan does one.. but he doesnt cough and spit..they just stick a long qtip in the back of his throat..... thats why i wonder if maybe he's growing something and thats where the cough is coming from....<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif" border="0">
I would think that a throat culture would only check for bacteria in the throat. It wouldn't be able to check anything in his lungs. Which if he's coughing up anything. The bacteria is in the lungs. I used to be the same way before I was diagnoost. I was diagnost at 30. But it seems they never put me on anything strong enough to kill whatever was growing inside. It just subdude it for awhile. I was on antibiotics approx every 6 weeks. It was terrible. My CF dr let my md know what antibiotics works for me. Now I don't get all the ones my md thinks I should be on. They go right to the strong ones. Hope this helps. Eva
Magerly111
New member
I know that with me, I always end up having good PFT's, good weight, good height, little cough, and I feel fine...and then my doctor asks me to get a chest x-ray. The x-ray often, if not always, shows that something is clogged or growing. I mean, as much as I know about CF, I don't know everything, and no one does. But I have found that I get baterial infections seasonally, and soemtimes they just go away and come back without doing much medicine at all. It's weird, but I guess you can't control the path of CF and that's why. Plus, throat cultures aren't the best way to see if there is an infection. Many times I have done those (with the long q-tip) and nothing has shown, but then the x-ray comes along lol. Anyway, I'd ask your CF doctor definitely. They tend to know much more than we do <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
writewoman
New member
I would suggest insisting that the doctor do further testing (Chest x-rays, etc.) and make sure that he writes the Rx for a minimum of three weeks. Anything less than that is unlikely to kill the bugs that most kiddos with CF grow. Don't be afraid of the docs. You are your child's best and sometimes only advocate. Do whatever is necessary to stick up for him, even if it means getting a second opinion with another doc.
ok i dont think the last post went through so here it is again.........they do sputum cultures on my son but he isnt old enough to spit yet.. they just take a xtra long qtip and swab the back of his throat.... so that makes me wonder if maybe something is going on and its not showing up on the culture<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif" border="0">
NoDayButToday
New member
Ditto to what everyone else said. If all that does not yield any answers, you may want to consider a bronchoscopy. A bronch is when the doctors stick a tube down the throat into the lungs, to collect specimens, film the inside of the lungs with a tiny camera, and sometimes shoot medicine or saline directly into the lungs. In my case, and most certainly in your son's case given his age (and if it even comes to this) you are under anesthesia. Because the specimen is so pure and from deeper in the lung than perhaps a throat culture would be, it could show different results- truer results. When I wake up, especially on my most recent bronch, there is only the slightest bit of discomfort- a slightly sore throat (sort of like how I felt after a Bruce Springsteen concert shrieking all the lyrics and talking over music to my friends <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">)
Again this is a very last resort. For now, you may want to practice coughing with your son. My mom did this when I was little because I HATED throat cultures so much, and she did not enjoy her baby going through them either. Also, she had heard a sputum culture from coughing is often more accurate. We literally sat on the couch and my mom showed me how to cough. The clinic said I was one of the youngest kids ever to transition from throat to conventional sputum cultures. Just a thought. Good luck <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
Again this is a very last resort. For now, you may want to practice coughing with your son. My mom did this when I was little because I HATED throat cultures so much, and she did not enjoy her baby going through them either. Also, she had heard a sputum culture from coughing is often more accurate. We literally sat on the couch and my mom showed me how to cough. The clinic said I was one of the youngest kids ever to transition from throat to conventional sputum cultures. Just a thought. Good luck <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
Hi Melissa,
My daughter rarely shows anything on a throat culture but has had a lot of problems with coughing and rapid breathing, retracting etc.,.
She has had two bronchoscopies done and one indicated pseudomonas and one stenotrophomonas. These two bugs have yet to show up on throat cultures but when Samantha has a flare-up that is what she is treated for.
The doctors always start off with oral antibiotics, and then start a month of Tobi, if this doesn't work (which it sometimes doesn't) then she starts IV antibiotics. The IVs always seem to work.
Although I don't like the invasiveness of a bronch, it has the advantage of finding bugs deep in the lungs and in different areas of the lungs.
Maria (mother of three daughters, the youngest, Samantha w/cf)
My daughter rarely shows anything on a throat culture but has had a lot of problems with coughing and rapid breathing, retracting etc.,.
She has had two bronchoscopies done and one indicated pseudomonas and one stenotrophomonas. These two bugs have yet to show up on throat cultures but when Samantha has a flare-up that is what she is treated for.
The doctors always start off with oral antibiotics, and then start a month of Tobi, if this doesn't work (which it sometimes doesn't) then she starts IV antibiotics. The IVs always seem to work.
Although I don't like the invasiveness of a bronch, it has the advantage of finding bugs deep in the lungs and in different areas of the lungs.
Maria (mother of three daughters, the youngest, Samantha w/cf)
Sometimes a sputum culture will show what is growing in the lungs, but only if the patient is able to cough deep enough and bring up some junk from the lungs. And there is really no way of knowing "is it from the lungs, throat...". When my hubbie was about 15 or 16 they scraped his lungs. It served 2 purposes, it cleaned them out and it gave them a chance to analyze what he was growing and give him the right meds as well as use some of the 'junk' they got for some studying. It is a surgery, however minor, so it's not always the best option for everyone but it seemed to work well for him!
also, make sure they are doing a sputum culture, and not just the throat swab on him.
Julie
also, make sure they are doing a sputum culture, and not just the throat swab on him.
Julie
Also, three isn't too young to begin coaching on how to cough deep and bring up sputum. My husband says it's a learned technique at that age (he remembers his mom and grandma encouraging him to do so, doing it with him) but he should be working on it so they can properly test the sputum. He also said it was much easier to bring junk up after he had been running or playing soccer or after his mom did chest PT on him, especially in an inclined (head down off the couch/bed) position.
I would encourage trying that to see if you can get more accurate results from the sputum culture.
Julie
I would encourage trying that to see if you can get more accurate results from the sputum culture.
Julie
NoDayButToday
New member
LOL I guess my mom and I were not the only CF family who had family cough practicing sessions <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">