What Does the Color of My Phlegm Means? Yellow, Brown, Green & More Revealed The Cause of Phlegm. Most doctors, in fact, don't even use mucus color as a reliable tool of diagnosis. Both green and yellow snot can result from viral infections. According to Dr. Matthew Rank, the color of snot is actually more of an indication of the length of symptoms if anything. A bacterial infection can result from a virus, however.
Sputum or phlegm is a product of the respiratory system. The color of your sputum can help a doctor diagnose your condition. Learn what they meaning.
Phlegm or sputum is mucus, a sticky substance that comes from your respiratory tract. It often comes out when you cough or expectorate and it often indicates that you may have some form of respiratory tract disease. Sputum color (or sputum colour) usually helps doctors diagnose your condition, when evaluated in relation to your symptoms, your medical history and physical examination, as well as laboratory tests. Sputum cytology and sputum culture also help determine the causative agents associated with your sputum color.
Early morning sputum is the best specimen to examine since this provides the ideal amount and composition of your mucus. Otherwise, sputum samples taken later during the day may be tainted by coloring and other substance from food and drinks. Mcl vaidehi tamil fonts.
Different Sputum Colors and Their Meanings
Sputum from your respiratory system is often mixed with saliva produced in the mouth. It may contain microorganisms, cellular debris, immune cells, dust, and blood components. Sputum color may depend on the disease process and the quantity of the components mentioned. Therefore, your sputum may have a wide variety of colors and character, such as clear, white, yellow, gray, green, pink, red, brown, black or rust-colored.
1. Clear/White/Gray Sputum
- What Does the Color of My Phlegm Means? Yellow, Brown, Green & More Revealed The Cause of Phlegm.
- Normal mucus is a clear color and is thick and viscous, similar to the texture of glue. You probably don’t have any infection or virus if your snot is clear. 2 As long as your body isn’t producing too much or too little of it, and as long it is the right texture, you should be in good health.
- Phlegm color chart Discolored sputum or phlegm is commonly interpreted by both patients and physicians as a clinical sign for the presence of bacterial infection 23). Thus in patients with acute respiratory infections yellowish and greenish phlegm as well as certain non-specific symptoms such as fatigue are strong predictors for antibiotic.
It is normal for you to cough out a small amount of clear sputum occasionally. However, excessive production of clear or white sputum may be abnormal in some cases, such as:
- Respiratory tract infection caused by a virus - clear to whitish sputum
- Asthma – thick, white/yellow sputum
- Chronic bronchitis (COPD) – clear/gray sputum
- Pulmonary edema (presence of fluid in lungs) – clear to white, frothy sputum
- Postnasal drip
- Allergic reaction
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD
Cigarette smoking and air pollution can result in the production of grayish phlegm. Clear or white phlegm can also precede the appearance of yellow or green sputum, especially during the early stage of an infection.However,white, frothy sputum may be a sign of health failure, leading to an increase in fluids in the lungs or pulmonary edema.
2. Yellow Sputum
Yellow sputum colour is often seen in infection, chronic inflammation, and allergic conditions. It is due to the white blood cells called eosinphils, which are associated with allergic conditions causingairway hypersensitivity, or neutrophils, which are associated with infection. Examples of conditions when you may have yellow sputum include:
- Acute bronchitis
- Acute pneumonia
- Asthma
A light-yellow sputum color may be a sign of a normal immune system function, signifying that it is fighting a viral upper respiratory tract infection. However, thick, dark-yellow phlegm may indicate a bacterial infection, which may occur in your sinus or lower respiratory tract, such as chronic bronchitis or pneumonia. Seek medical attention immediately.
Phlegm Color Chart Nhs
3. Green Sputum
Green sputum color is an indication of long-standing or chronic infection. It results from the breakdown of the neutrophils, which causes the release of enzymes from the cells. Non-infectious, but inflammatory conditions may produce large amounts of greenish mucus, but infectious conditions are associated with green sputum that has a large amount of pus (more purulent). These conditions may include:
Phlegm Color Chart Orange
- Pneumonia
- Lung abscess
- Chronic bronchitis
- Cystic fibrosis
- Bronchiectasis
Aside from green sputum, you may also experience symptoms such as fever, cough, weakness, and loss of appetite. Consult your doctor immediately for proper evaluation and treatment.
4. Brown/Black Sputum
Brown to black sputum color indicates the presence of ‘old blood.’ The color is due to red blood cell breakdown, resulting in the release of hemosiderin from your hemoglobin. Organic as well as non-organic materials may also cause the brown or black sputum colour. Examples of conditions where dark-colored sputum may appear include:
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic pneumonia
- Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis
- Tuberculosis
- Lung cancer
- Chronic smoking
If you are a chronic smoker, it is best to stop smoking. Consumption of dark-colored foods and drinks such as coffee, wine or chocolate may also give you brown or black sputum, especially if you have acid reflux. Consult your doctor for further evaluation and treatment.
5. Red/Pink/Rust-Colored Sputum
Pink to red sputum color is usually indicative of the presence of blood in the sputum. Blood cells may cause complete discoloration of your mucus or appear only as spots or streaks. Pink sputum means that the bleeding is in smaller quantities. Rust-colored phlegm may be due to the breakdown of red blood cells. Conditions with pink/red/rust-colored sputum include:
- Pneumococcal pneumonia
- Lung cancer
- Tuberculosis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Chronic heart failure with pulmonary edema
- Trauma to the lungs
- Pulmonary embolism
- Lung abscess
- Bleeding disorders
- Tropical eosinophilia
Blood in the sputum (hemoptysis) may be a sign of some major illness for which you need immediate medical attention. If you cough up a lot of blood with mucus, immediately call emergency services.
Ear Pressure: Causes and Treatments
Ear pressure may be caused by various factors and is often accompanied by other symptoms. There are some simple home remedies for relief.
Sputum or phlegm is pus like substance that is expelled from your throat. Sputum comes out when you have cough or allergic cold or respiratory tract infection. The color of the sputum is indicative of the disease and your doctor would often ask for it during diagnosis. The color of the sputum gains importance during laboratory test of sputum culture. Your doctor will complete the physical examination and collect complete medical history before making any decision. While giving the sputum sample in the lab, it is wise to take the first sputum in the morning which can give a clear picture. Sputum color may change depending on the foods and drinks you take during the course of the day.
- Sputum (Phlegm) Colors :
Sputum not only contains mucus but also cellular debris, micro-organisms and other immune cells. Some people may find traces of blood in the sputum. It may contain dust and other toxic substances in the body. Sputum is of various colors like white, grey, clear, green, yellow, red, brown, pink, black and rust colored. Let us discuss about every color of the sputum and its significance.
Clear or White Sputum :
It is quite normal to get clear sputum once in a while, but if you are getting white sputum in excess it can be indicative of some internal disorders. Some of the conditions like chronic bronchitis, asthma and pulmonary edema can produce clear or white sputum. The sputum color can be clear to whitish if you have moderate respiratory tract infection. People with chronic asthma can get thick whitish (cottage cheese like) sputum. The color of the sputum would be clear white or grey for those with chronic bronchitis. Medical condition like pulmonary edema can cause clear white but frothy sputum. Other conditions like allergic cold, postnasal drip and GERD can produce white or clear sputum.
Yellowish Sputum :
White to yellow colored sputum is often indicative of infection and allergic condition. Excess of eosinphils and neutrophills can block the airways causing yellowish sputum. Conditions like acute bronchitis and pneumonia can produce yellow sputum. If the sputum is thick and yellowish it can be due to infection caused by virus or bacteria. However this is not the case all the time and it is not necessary that you carry some infection in your body if you get yellow sputum. According to a recent publication of European respiratory journal, only 46 persons out of 100 people with yellow sputum were detected to have some sort of infection.
Green Colored Sputum :
Getting green sputum can be due to chronic infection. A protein compound called neutrophils releases some green colored enzymes (verdoperioxidase / myeloperioxidase) during the process of breakdown. This can cause green sputum. It is the immune system that sends loads of WBC containing neutrophils to the site of infection which breaks down producing green color. Affected person can get large volumes of sputum if he/she is suffering from chronic infection. Chronic conditions like pneumonia (lung infection), chronic bronchitis, and abscess present in the lungs, and cystic fibrosis can cause greenish sputum. However you cannot conclude that you are infected with any of these diseases if you have green sputum. There are many other symptoms like fever, cough, malaise and loss of appetite and much more diagnostic procedures to detect infectious condition.
Brown or Black Colored Sputum :
Brown sputum can be due to presence of blood. Red blood cells are broken down to release enzymes called hemosiderin. People who are regular smokers can have brown or black sputum due to excess of tar or resin and other pollutants present in the cigarette. The body’s mechanism fights to expel these irritants from the lungs as quickly as possible in the form of black sputum. For some people eating certain foods like lots of chocolates and coffee can cause brownish sputum. Certain medical conditions like chronic pneumonia and bronchitis can cause greenish or brown to black sputum. Infectious diseases like TB and lung cancer can cause brown sputum. People working in pollutant atmosphere like that of mines and coal fields are highly prone to get brown to black sputum.
Red or Pink Colored Sputum (Phlegm) :
Red colored sputum is indicative of presence of blood in it. Pulmonary edema (building up of excess of fluid in the lungs) can cause pink or red sputum. Red sputum can be due to leakage of blood somewhere in the respiratory tract. People living with heart problems can also get red sputum. Blood streaks can be seen with mucus and for some people the entire mucus color may change to reddish pink. Blood clot inside the body can also cause rust colored mucus. Red frothy sputum can occur due to lung cancer which advances to brown colored sputum if the cancer has widespread in the body. Medical conditions like pulmonary embolism can cause bright red colored sputum. Lung abscess, chronic heart failure, lung injury and bleeding disorders can cause brownish red or pink sputum.
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