What is a bloody sputum called?

Green or Dark Yellow Phlegm. A thick and dark yellow phlegm may be a sign of a viral or bacterial infection, sinus infection, or lower respiratory tract infection. Typically, this occurs when the immune system sends white blood cells, known as neutrophils, to the area of infection.

Symptoms – Coughing Up Blood. One of the common symptoms of lung cancer is coughing up blood. The medical term for this is hemoptysis, the presence of blood in the sputum (spit or phlegm) coughed up from the lungs. Lung cancers account for 23% of hemoptysis in the United States.

Coughing up blood (hemoptysis) can be a sign of a serious medical condition. Infections, cancer, and problems in blood vessels or in the lungs themselves can be responsible. Coughing up blood generally requires medical evaluation unless the hemoptysis is due to bronchitis.

Infection of the airways (bronchi), called acute bronchitis, and infection of the lung tissue, called pneumonia, are perhaps the most common causes of mild bouts of coughing up blood. However, infection anywhere in the airways may potentially cause haemoptysis. Typically, the blood is mixed up with spit (sputum).

Coughing up blood can be caused by a variety of lung conditions. Also known as hemoptysis (he-MOP-tih-sis), coughing up blood, even in small amounts, can be alarming. However, producing a little blood-tinged sputum isn’t uncommon and usually isn’t serious.

Here’s what those symptoms look like: In bacterial pneumonia, patients usually develop a high fever with possible shaking chills. You may also have moderate or severe chest pain when you cough or draw in a deep breath. The cough produces a thick phlegm that is green, yellow or rust-colored.

A chest infection is an infection in the lungs or lower airways. If the infection is in the air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs, it is called pneumonia. Chest infections can be spread to other people when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Chest infections are more common in: babies and young children.

Do

get plenty of rest.

drink lots of water to loosen the mucus and make it easier to cough up.

use an air humidifier or inhale steam from a bowl of hot water (adults only) – you can add menthol or eucalyptus oil.

raise your head up while sleeping using extra pillows to make breathing easier and clear your chest of mucus.

Sputum, or phlegm, is a mixture of saliva and mucus that you’ve coughed up. Blood-tinged sputum occurs when the sputum has visible streaks of blood in it. The blood comes from somewhere along the respiratory tract inside your body. The respiratory tract includes the: mouth.

Seasonal allergies can cause the mucous membranes in your nose and mouth to dry out, and this can facilitate small blood vessel breakage. Additionally, dental or gum disease can lead to small amounts of blood appearing in your saliva/phlegm.

If you have a chest infection, you should:

Get plenty of rest.

Drink lots of fluid to prevent dehydration and to thin the mucus in your lungs, making it easier to cough up.

Treat headaches, fever and aches and pains with paracetamol or ibuprofen.

Stop smoking straight away.

Acute bronchitis treatment

Drink fluids, but avoid caffeine and alcohol.

Get plenty of rest.

Take over-the-counter pain relievers to reduce inflammation, ease pain, and lower your fever.

Use cough medicine, if your child is age 6 or older.

Increase the humidity in your home or use a humidifier.

Often a cause of coughing up blood is a nose bleed. Blood seeps down into the back of the throat and is coughed up. It is often hard to tell where it came from. Other causes of hemoptysis include lung cancer, bad lung infections such as pneumonia, and a disease of the lower airways called bronchiectasis.

Coughing up blood is the spitting up of blood or bloody mucus from the lungs and throat (respiratory tract). Hemoptysis is the medical term for coughing up blood from the respiratory tract.

Acute bronchitis often develops three to four days after a cold or the flu. It may start with a dry cough, then after a few days the coughing spells may bring up mucus. Most people get over an acute bout of bronchitis in two to three weeks, although the cough can sometimes hang on for four weeks or more.

A bleed inside the mouth is usually not serious unless it doesn’t stop or occurs in a young child. Bleeding into the throat or neck can cause swelling which can block your windpipe. If you can’t breathe, you will die. Throat bleeding may happen after a bad coughing spell, tonsillitis, or even a common cold.

Hemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or blood-stained mucus from the bronchi, larynx, trachea, or lungs. This can occur with lung cancer, infections such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, or pneumonia, and certain cardiovascular conditions.

Stress can cause your body to release an extra large dose of the hormone cortisol, which can cause your body to release less estrogen and progesterone, and thus mess with your periods, making them irregular or late, or make your spot when its not yet time for you to surf the crimson tide.

Bronchitis — sometimes referred to as a chest cold — occurs when the airways in your lungs are inflamed and make too much mucus. Acute bronchitis is more common and usually is caused by a viral infection. Acute bronchitis may also be called a chest cold.

A chronic cough is a cough that lasts eight weeks or longer in adults, or four weeks in children. A chronic cough is more than just an annoyance. While it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint the problem that’s triggering a chronic cough, the most common causes are tobacco use, postnasal drip, asthma and acid reflux.