diff --git a/app/templates/base.html b/app/templates/base.html
index c8c6fb7..68009d1 100644
--- a/app/templates/base.html
+++ b/app/templates/base.html
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@
         }
         function escapeAttr(str) { return escapeHtml(str); }
 
-        function fetchNotifications() {
+        window.fetchNotifications = function fetchNotifications() {
             fetch(FEED_URL, { credentials: 'same-origin' })
                 .then(r => r.json())
                 .then(data => {
diff --git a/app/templates/issues/view.html b/app/templates/issues/view.html
index f941c6f..a97257c 100644
--- a/app/templates/issues/view.html
+++ b/app/templates/issues/view.html
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
     {% if comments %}
     <div class="card shadow-sm mb-4">
       <div class="card-header bg-light">
-        <h6 class="mb-0"><i class="bi bi-clock-history"></i> Update History</h6>
+        <h6 class="mb-0" id="update-history"><i class="bi bi-clock-history"></i> Update History</h6>
       </div>
       <ul class="list-group list-group-flush">
         {% for c in comments %}
@@ -181,4 +181,32 @@
 <a href="{{ url_for('issues.index') }}" class="btn btn-outline-secondary btn-sm">
   <i class="bi bi-arrow-left"></i> Back to Issues
 </a>
+{% block extra_js %}
+<script>
+(function () {
+    'use strict';
+
+    // ── Immediate bell refresh after a successful update ──────────────────
+    // After form submit + redirect, Flask flashes 'Issue updated.' and the
+    // URL stays at /issues/<id>. We detect the flash message presence and
+    // call the global fetchNotifications() defined in base.html so the bell
+    // badge updates instantly without waiting for the 60-second poll cycle.
+    if (document.querySelector('.alert-success')) {
+        if (typeof fetchNotifications === 'function') {
+            fetchNotifications();
+        }
+    }
+
+    // ── Auto-scroll to Update History after save ──────────────────────────
+    // If there's a success flash AND comments exist, scroll the history
+    // section into view so the newly added comment is immediately visible.
+    if (document.querySelector('.alert-success')) {
+        var historyEl = document.getElementById('update-history');
+        if (historyEl) {
+            historyEl.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'start' });
+        }
+    }
+})();
+</script>
+{% endblock %}
 {% endblock %}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/utils/notifications.py b/app/utils/notifications.py
index 4dee855..e1c69b9 100644
--- a/app/utils/notifications.py
+++ b/app/utils/notifications.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Digest emails are sent by calling send_pending_digests(frequency) from the
 /notifications/send-digest route, which is triggered by a server cron job.
 """
 
-import logging
+import logging, threading
 from flask import current_app, render_template_string
 from flask_mail import Message
 from app import db, mail
@@ -218,7 +218,13 @@ def notify(
 
 
 def _send_single_email(recipient, title, body, link):
-    """Dispatch a single immediate notification email. Fire-and-forget."""
+    """Dispatch a single immediate notification email in a background thread.
+
+    Sending is offloaded to a daemon thread so SMTP latency never blocks the
+    HTTP response. The Flask application context is pushed explicitly so that
+    Flask-Mail and config lookups work outside the request context.
+    """
+    # Render templates while still inside the request context
     try:
         base_url = current_app.config.get('APP_BASE_URL', '').rstrip('/')
         sender   = current_app.config.get(
@@ -238,16 +244,31 @@ def _send_single_email(recipient, title, body, link):
             body       = text_body,
             html       = html_body,
         )
-        mail.send(msg)
-        logger.info(
-            'NOTIFICATION EMAIL SENT | to=%s | subject=%s',
-            recipient.email, msg.subject,
-        )
     except Exception as exc:
-        logger.error(
-            'NOTIFICATION EMAIL FAILED | to=%s | error=%s',
-            recipient.email, exc,
-        )
+        logger.error('NOTIFICATION EMAIL BUILD FAILED | to=%s | error=%s', recipient.email, exc)
+        return
+
+    # Capture app instance before leaving the request context
+    app              = current_app._get_current_object()
+    recipient_email  = recipient.email
+    subject          = msg.subject
+
+    def _send():
+        with app.app_context():
+            try:
+                mail.send(msg)
+                logger.info(
+                    'NOTIFICATION EMAIL SENT | to=%s | subject=%s',
+                    recipient_email, subject,
+                )
+            except Exception as exc:
+                logger.error(
+                    'NOTIFICATION EMAIL FAILED | to=%s | error=%s',
+                    recipient_email, exc,
+                )
+
+    t = threading.Thread(target=_send, daemon=True)
+    t.start()
 
 
 # ── Digest delivery ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────