Home Care After Bronchoscopy

What to Expect

You may notice a mild soreness in your throat. It may help to gargle with lightly salted water or suck on hard candy. If you had tissue samples taken, you may cough up a few streaks of blood. This should not last longer than the next morning.

Home Care

• No driving today. You must have an adult to take you home.

• Do not make any important decisions today.

• Do not drink alcohol. Do not take tranquilizers or sleeping pills tonight.

• Rest today. You may resume normal daily tasks tomorrow.

• Do not use hazardous machinery.

• You may resume your routine medicines unless told otherwise. Please check with the doctor after the exam to see if it's ok to resume taking aspirin, aspirin-like drugs, or blood thinners.

• You may resume your normal diet. Start out with a light diet to prevent nausea.

• You may have some soreness and redness at the IV site for a day or two. You can relieve this by placing a warm, moist washcloth over the area. Please contact your primary doctor if this does not improve in a couple of days.
  

When to Call

Call your pulmonary doctor if:

• You have a fever of 100.4º F or above

• You cough up more than a few streaks of bright, red blood

• You are still coughing up blood 24 hours after your bronchoscopy

• Your coughing becomes more severe

• You have any questions or concerns
  

Go to the nearest emergency room if:

• You have new chest pains

• You have worsening shortness of breath

• You cough up large amounts of bright, red blood
  

Who to Call

Pulmonary Clinic

Monday–Friday, 8 am– 5 pm
(608) 263-7203

GI/Bronchoscopy Procedure Center

Monday–Friday, 7 am – 5 pm
(608) 263-8094

Pediatric Pulmonary Clinic

Monday–Friday, 8 am – 4:30 pm
(608) 263-6420

After hours, the clinic number will be answered by the paging operator. Ask for the pulmonary doctor on call. Leave your name and phone number with the area code. The doctor will call you back.

The toll-free number is 1-800-323-8942.