Your GP will ask you about the pattern of your symptoms and will want to know how often you cough, whether you bring up any sputum and whether you smoke.
They may also listen to your lungs with a stethoscope as you breathe (the lungs of people with bronchiectasis often make a distinctive crackling noise as a person breaths in and out) and take a sample of your sputum to be checked for bacteria.
You will also probably be given a chest X-ray to rule out other, more serious causes of your symptoms, such as lung cancer.
If your GP suspects that bronchiectasis could be likely then you will be referred to a doctor who specialises in treating lung conditions (a respiratory consultant) for further testing.
The maximum time you should have to wait for referral is 18 weeks, although you may not have to wait as long as this. Read more about waiting times.
HRCT scan
Currently the most effective test available to diagnose bronchiectasis is called a high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan.
A HRCT scan will be taken of your chest at slightly different angles, and a computer is used to put all the images together. This produces a very detailed picture of the inside of your body and the airways inside your lungs (the bronchi) should show up very clearly.
In a healthy pair of lungs the bronchi should become narrower and narrower as they move down deeper in your lungs, in the same way that a tree branch will then separate into narrower branches and then twigs.
If the scan shows that a section of bronchi are actually getting wider, this usually confirms that you have bronchiectasis.
Other tests
Other tests can be used to assess the state of your lungs and to try to determine what the underlying cause of your bronchiectasis may be.
These tests may include:
- blood tests – which can be used to check how well your immune system is working and check for infectious agents, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi
- a sample of your blood can be tested to see how much salt is in it – high levels of salt can be caused by cystic fibrosis (if this test is positive then a more detailed genetic test can be carried out: read more about diagnosing cystic fibrosis)
- pulmonary function test – a small, hand-held device that you blow into is used to measure how hard and how quickly you can expel air from your lungs; this can assess how well your lungs are working
- bronchoscopy – a flexible tube with a camera at one end is used to look into your lungs; this test is usually only required if it is suspected that you could have breathed a foreign object into your lungs
