- Drink and tissues. Be prepared with a drink, and something to cough into such as a tissue or pot, before you start.
- Inhalation therapy. If you take bronchodilator inhalers or nebulisers such as Salbutamol, use these prior to performing your Airway Clearance Technique. This will open up your airways and make it easier to move the sputum up and out of your lungs. If you use a saline nebuliser you should use this prior to your airway clearance. This will help to loosen the sputum making your airway clearance easier.
- Clear your upper airway. Cough up any sputum at the back of your throat and blow your nose. This will make the breathing exercises easier.
- Adopt a good posture. This will allow the muscles that help you with your breathing to work as well as they can. You are also less likely to develop joint pain if your posture is good. Good posture can also limit the downward pressure onto your pelvic floor muscles which can help avoid stress urinary incontinence.
- Think about tightening up your pelvic floor as you are doing your airway clearance. This will help with problems such as stress incontinence. For more information please see our section on: stress urinary incontinence.
