Is It Normal To Have Thick Mucus From My Head That Has A Pink Color

Snot, mucus, sputum, phlegm – it goes by many names but does that often colorful fluid that oozes from your body really accept a purpose?

By definition, phlegm is a byproduct of inflammation in the sinuses and the lungs. Your body is responding to some sort of irritant and is creating the phlegm to combat the effect. It tin be related to a bacterial infection like bronchitis, sinusitis or pneumonia. It could be a viral infection like your regular, run of the mill upper respiratory infection. It can exist produced past people who accept chronic lung disease similar COPD, cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis. Information technology's a function of environmental allergies and asthma as well.

Just because yous take a productive phlegmy cough or a runny nose, it doesn't really requite you lot a specific diagnosis simply it is a inkling to identifying the health event that ails you.

The Phlegm Colour Spectrum

Yellow/Green Phlegm

Yellow, light-green phlegm is likely related to an infection. The type of infection isn't really able to be discerned by the colour itself.

The first step would be to talk to your master care provider. They'll ask questions such as how long take yous been sick, is there someone sick in your habitation or at work, take you had a fever, chills, muscle aches or hurting. These questions will assistance your doctor make up one's mind if you demand antibiotics or if it'south something they can watch for a niggling longer and see if you can make it through without antibiotics.

Pinkish, Red or Bloody Phlegm

If you're coughing up red, pink or bloody phlegm, you should be seen by your provider. Information technology could exist related to an infection or to cancer in some cases. If y'all're a smoker and you're coughing up claret, it is worrisome. Your doc may have a more than in depth health history and gild a chest 10-ray earlier making a diagnosis.

White Phlegm

Allergies, asthma and oft viral infections cause white phlegm or phlegm without a lot of color to it. It really depends. If information technology's associated with underlying inflammatory weather condition like asthma or COPD, it might indicate your underlying event isn't every bit controlled as information technology needs to exist and your chronic disease management may need to exist augmented. If information technology's related to a viral upper respiratory tract infection, you can probably wait it out. If it is allergies, you may need to have a more aggressive allergy regimen, take an antihistamine, a nasal steroid or see an allergy specialist.

Charcoal or Gray Phlegm

We tend to come across charcoal or sooty looking phlegm in people who piece of work in coal mines and factories or are really heavy smokers.

If you work in a factory where at that place'south a ton of smoke and don't wear a mask, you lot're inhaling all that in and it's causing an inflammatory reaction in your airways that produces phlegm. The irritants are mixed in with the phlegm and when you lot cough, it comes out.

Aforementioned thing with cigarette smoking – sometimes we see patients who are smoking two to three packs a day who have a productive coughing. A lot of times they'll have a piffling bit of gray or smoky tinge to their phlegm because of the smoking.

If you take symptoms of an infection, we'll requite you lot both antibiotics and some steroids in certain cases to become the inflammation down. If it's simply related to occupational exposure like y'all work in a smoky surroundings or construction and aren't beingness diligent virtually wearing masks, we'll tell y'all to be more careful with practicing occupational safe by wearing the advisable personal protective equipment.

Brown Phlegm

Sometimes people who have really pregnant chronic lung affliction tin can cough up a brownish or really tenacious looking phlegm that'due south a little more rare than the traditional colors. Really night chocolate-brown, tenacious phlegm is seen in patients who have cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis, which is a chronic lung affliction. The phlegm is brown because of blood and the intense chronic inflammation that comes with the chronic affliction state. The leaner camp out within the lungs and cause very gradual changes in the consistency and advent of phlegm.

If yous have chronic lung disease, y'all may be used to seeing brownish phlegm. In those situations we phone call an acute exacerbation of your underlying cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis, you may require antibiotics. If you accept actually resistant bacteria growing in your lungs, you may need to have IV antibiotics or an aggressive regimen to proceed things under control.

How Long Will the Phlegm Last?

The duration of the phlegm in your system depends on the cause.

• For bacterial infections, even without antibiotics, it tin can be self-limiting and will go away in 10 to 14 days.
• Viral infections tin can last a lilliputian longer, so sometimes upwards to three weeks depending on the flavor.
• Inflammatory conditions similar asthma and COPD typically don't necessarily get improve unless the disease is treated more aggressively.

Think, your body is doing its job when phlegm is being produced. Information technology shows that it's addressing some sort of assault, exist it an infection or an allergy or an irritant that'south in your lungs or your sinuses – that's how your trunk fights those assaults.

Dr. Jonathan Parsons is the associate director of clinical services and manager of the asthma center in the Sectionalization of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Eye.

Source: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/what-does-the-color-of-your-phlegm-mean

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