Cystic fibrosis : This chronic lung disease may cause rust-colored sputum. Pneumoconiosis : Inhaling different dusts, like coal, asbestos , and silicosis can cause this incurable lung disease. It can cause brown sputum. Lung abscess : This is a cavity filled with pus inside your lungs. Along with cough, night sweats , and loss of appetite, you will experience a cough that brings up brown or blood-streaked sputum.
This phlegm also smells foul. Viral bronchitis : This condition may start off with white phlegm. If it progresses into a bacterial infection, it may lead to yellow and green phlegm.
GERD : This chronic condition affects your digestive system. It may cause you to cough up thick, white sputum. COPD : This condition causes your airways to narrow and your lungs to produce excess mucus.
The combination makes it hard for your body to get oxygen. With this condition, you may experience white sputum. Fluids build up in different areas leading to edema. Fluid collects in the lungs and may lead to an increase in white sputum.
You may also experience shortness of breath. Black sputum is also called melanoptysis. Seeing black phlegm may mean you have inhaled a high amount of something black, like coal dust. It may also mean you have a fungal infection that needs medical attention. Smoking : Smoking cigarettes, crack , or other drugs may lead to black sputum. Pneumoconiosis : One type in particular, black lung disease, may cause black sputum.
It mostly affects coal workers or anyone else who has frequent exposure to coal dust. Coughing up black sputum may also be accompanied by shortness of breath. Fungal infection : A black yeast called Exophiala dermatitidis causes this infection. This is an uncommon condition that can cause black phlegm. It more often affects people who have cystic fibrosis. Your body produces clear mucus and phlegm on a daily basis. It is mostly filled with water, protein, antibodies, and some dissolved salts to help lubricate and moisturize your respiratory system.
An increase in clear phlegm may mean that your body is trying to flush out an irritant, like pollen , or some type of virus. Allergic rhinitis : This is also called nasal allergy or sometimes hay fever. It makes your body produce more nasal mucus after exposure to allergens like pollen, grasses, and weeds. This mucus creates postnasal drip and may make you cough up clear phlegm.
Viral bronchitis : This is an inflammation in the bronchial tubes in your lungs. It begins with clear or white phlegm and coughing. In some cases, you may find that the phlegm progress to a yellow or green color. Viral pneumonia : This form of pneumonia is caused by an infection in your lungs. Early symptoms include fever, dry cough, muscle pain, and other flu-like symptoms. You may also see an increase in clear phlegm. Blood is likely the cause of any shade of red phlegm.
Pink is considered another shade of red, so it may also indicate that there is blood in your phlegm, just less of it. Pneumonia : This lung infection may cause red phlegm as it progresses. It may also cause chills, fever, cough, and chest pain. Tuberculosis : This bacterial infection can be spread from one person to another in close quarters. Major symptoms include coughing for more than three weeks , coughing up blood and red phlegm, fever, and night sweats.
In addition to pink or red-tinged sputum, you may also experience shortness of breath. Pulmonary embolism : This happens when the pulmonary artery in your lungs becomes blocked. This blockage is often from a blood clot that travels from somewhere else in the body, like your leg.
It often causes bloody or blood-streaked sputum. Lung cancer : This condition causes many respiratory symptoms, including coughing up red-tinged phlegm or even blood. The consistency of your phlegm can change due to many of reasons. The scale ranges from mucoid frothy to mucopurulent to purulent thick and sticky. Your phlegm may get thicker and darker as an infection progresses. It may also be thicker in the morning or if you are dehydrated.
Your mucus is made of long molecules called mucins mixed with water. This forms a gel that usually stays clear. However, if you start producing excess clear mucus, that may signify allergies due to your body trying to expel dust, pollen and other irritating particles.
If a virus makes its way into your nose and into the air-filled pockets behind your forehead, cheeks and nose — called the sinuses — your nose may start to make extra mucus to clear out the virus.
After a few days, it might begin to turn white. One of the first signs of a cold is green or yellow mucus. The yellow color comes from dead white blood cells, which can turn green if there are a lot of white blood cells and other debris. Whether you keep blowing or rubbing your nose or you fall face-first onto it, blood is the primary reason your mucus can turn red or pink. It can also stick around your nasal cavity for a while, so lingering blood may just be a light shade of pink. Blood-producing irritation may not be so obvious, however, and it may be a result of something as simple as dryness in the air.
Dark mucus that looks brown or orange may cause you to panic, but one likely cause of it is simple: dried blood. Using antibiotics when they are not needed can be harmful, as bacteria can build up resistance. If green phlegm is accompanied by breathing difficulties, chest pain, or coughing up blood, visit a doctor urgently.
Red phlegm signals the presence of blood. There are many reasons for blood in the phlegm. Even just a lot of coughing, such as with a respiratory infection, can sometimes cause small blood vessels in the lungs or airways to break and bleed. In other situations, blood in the mucus can indicate the presence of a serious medical condition.
Phlegm can also take on different textures, ranging from watery to thick and tacky. Thin and watery mucus is usually normal and indicates a healthy respiratory tract. During an infection, immune cells, germs, and debris build up in the phlegm, making it thicker, stickier, and cloudier.
Coughing and sneezing help the body to clear out the excess mucus or phlegm and other things that do not belong in the respiratory tract. Illness or infection are not the only things that can cause mucus to become thicker. Being dehydrated or even sleeping can cause the mucus to move slower and become thicker than usual. Frothy sputum is mucus that is foamy and contains bubbles. Whitish-gray and frothy mucus can be a sign of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD and should be mentioned to the doctor, especially if this is a new symptom.
Pink and frothy phlegm can mean that someone is experiencing severe left-sided heart failure , especially when combined with any of the following symptoms:. Having green, yellow, or thickened phlegm does not always indicate the presence of an infection. Also, if an infection is present, the color of the phlegm does not determine whether a virus, a bacterium, or another pathogen has caused it. Simple allergies can also cause changes in the color of the mucus.
People who have white, yellow, or green mucus that is present for more than a few days, or experience other symptoms, such as fever , chills, a cough, or sinus pain, should visit their doctor. It is probably fine to wait a few days to try and treat the symptoms at home before making an appointment, however. Someone who develops new or increased red, brown, black, or frothy sputum should call their doctor for an appointment immediately.
These symptoms can be signs of a more serious medical condition that requires prompt treatment. People should try to get lots of rest and stay hydrated. Dehydration can worsen thick phlegm, making it harder to cough up.
Running a humidifier can help to moisten the air, which eases breathing, making it easier to cough and loosen up the phlegm that is stuck in the chest. Eucalyptus or peppermint essential oils are the active ingredients found in many over-the-counter chest rubs.
When rubbed on the chest, these oils may aid relaxation, improve breathing, and make coughs more productive to get the phlegm out. If using the essential oil directly, dilute it in a little coconut or almond oil before applying it to the chest.
Undiluted oils can sometimes be a little intense or painful if applied directly to the skin. Some people find that rubbing the oils into the soles of their feet and placing thick socks on can also be effective. There is an excellent selection online with thousands of customer reviews if you want to buy eucalyptus or peppermint essential oils. Over-the-counter expectorants, such as guaifenesin, help to thin the mucus, making it easier to cough up.
0コメント