What happens during a sputum culture?
Your health care provider will need to get a sample of your sputum. During the test:
A health care provider will ask you to breathe deeply and then cough deeply into a special cup.
Your provider may tap you on the chest to help loosen sputum from your lungs.
If you have trouble coughing up enough sputum, your provider may ask you to breathe in a salty mist that can help you cough more deeply.
If you still can't cough up enough sputum, your provider may perform a procedure called a bronchoscopy. In this procedure, you'll first get a medicine to help you relax, and then a numbing medicine so you won't feel any pain.
Then a thin, lighted tube will be put through your mouth or nose and into the airways.
Your provider will collect a sample from your airway using a small brush or suction.
