 Respiratory Disorders Related Forums
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Welcome to the Respiratory Disorders Forum! This forum is for questions and support regarding lung and respiratory issues such as: Allergies, Asthma, Bronchitis, Colds - Flu, Chronic Cough, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis, Emphysema, Fibrosis, Lung Abscess, Nasal Polyps, Pleurisy, Pneumonia, Sarcoidosis, Sinusitis, Tuberculosis
Questions posted in the Respiratory Disorders Forum are being answered by doctors from National Jewish Medical & Research Center.
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| rjonker 9/26/2005 | . | Hi there, I have a question... I am 26 years old and have smoked for 10 years. I quit smoking 2 weeks ago, and dont plan on going back to it ever! The problem I am having is, every morning when I wake up, I still feel a clogged up in my throat (Like I have been smoking) and this forces me to "hork". It's always green, brown, or yellow, and there is always a little bit of blood in it. My nose seems to most of the time be quite stuffed, so I dont know if this is from dry sinuses or something like that, and there is no blood in the phlegm later in the day, just a small amount in the morning. Within the last two months, I have had a chest Xray and everything was fine on it, as well as hematology, where again everything was fine. This blood in the phlegm is actually starting to bother me, although I assume it's most likely a sinus thing, but cannot be sure. I dont have a cough, just the urge to hork all the time that I assume is from smoking for quite a while that has created a post nasal drip of a sort... Anyways, I just wanted to know what your opinion was on the matter, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks, Ryan |
| NJC-R.N.-DC 10/9/2005 | rjonker | In the healthy lung, nose, and sinuses there are small hair-like projections called cilia that clean the lungs, nose, and sinuses by moving phlegm out. Smoking can paralyze or permanently damage this cleaning system. When you quit smoking your lungs, nose, and sinuses begin to recover from the inflammation that has occurred over the 10 years that you smoked. Most likely this inflammation is causing your symptoms. This inflammation can cause some blood to leak from the blood vessels that are close to the surface of the inside of your nose, sinuses, and the airways of your lungs. This may appear as a small amount of blood in your phlegm just in the morning. It’s a good sign that there is no blood in your phlegm later in the day. When phlegm is discolored it means that it has been sitting in your lungs, nose, and sinuses longer. Constantly bringing up phlegm or having postnasal drip are good signs. They show that this cleaning system is working again. When you were smoking this phlegm would just stay in your lungs, nose, and sinuses. It’s good that you are finally getting this out. As long as you have quit smoking before there has been permanent damage, then you will get better as the cleaning system cleans. After 10 years of smoking, you may continue to bring up discolored phlegm for as long as a year after you stopped smoking. Drinking plenty of water will help to thin the mucus making it move more easily, so you don’t wake up every morning feeling that your throat is clogged up. As long as you are not on a fluid restriction you should be drinking 6 to 8 8-ounce glasses of non-caffeine non-alcoholic fluid daily. This may also help with your dry sinuses and stuffy nose. Most likely, at your age, even with your history of smoking, the blood is coming from your nose or sinuses. If the blood in your phlegm were to continue throughout the day or does not gradually ease and then go away over the next couple of weeks, you should request to be seen by an ENT doctor. To find the source of the blood this specialist will examine your nose, sinuses, and throat, which would include the upper part of your windpipe and your vocal cords. You have made a wise decision to stop smoking. At this time quitting smoking is the most important thing that you can do for yourself. Congratulations on being able to quit smoking! You may want to look at our giving up smoking information at http://www.nationaljewish.org/disease-info/wellness/smoking/index.aspx for ways to keep you from ever going back to smoking. |
| julie43 9/26/2005 C1 | . | I also suffer from blood in phlegm every morning and no one will feel sorry for me cos I am a smoker and I really cannot help that??? I have been to my doctor and have been given antibiotics and they appear to have stopped the blood and the green and brown stuff but not the cough. This cough has been going on for years and sometimes I cough out and I cough out and I cough out and out and out and cannot get any air in cos I am coughing out so much I think I am going to pass out??? tough you might say,,,, well yes it is,,,, there are some that can stop smoking and some that cannot, me one of the cannot,( I hope I can) I have tried soo much... the patches produced non cancerous growths called lypomas on my arm and leg where I put them and these growths had to be removed for fear they may turn cancerous? I have no proof its them but I had no growths before. The gum I loved but ultimately after a month had a smoke with them so ended up with two additions. Do I want to stop smoking???? Of cos I do, I bet 99% of folk want to stop, I hate the fact that this drug is in control of me and me not in control of it. I seem to have spent my life trying to kick the habit with smoking clincs etc,,, I have gone 8 whole months without smokes then my daughter got leukaemia and I started again... I got 6 months clear then the same daughter got diabetes .. I got ?? a smoke and Keratosis of the vocal cords.. My dentist says try a conforter ie: a dummy?? I'm still not past trying but it's soo hard. ANYONE ELSE THE SAME AS ME???? |
| rjonker 9/27/2005 C2 | . | I'm just wondering if there is going to be a doc that's going to attempt to answer the question I posted on here..l I'm not to sure how this site works but, maybe he/she could answer your too... ? |
| bucketta 9/27/2005 C3 | . | New here, just found the forum today. I understand all the problems listed above and I have faced them all and am now facing pneumonia and asthmatic bronchitis. I quit smoking for a year and started back when my mother died in April of this year, have not been able to kick the habit again, so far, but I know I can and I will. I just wanted to post in support of those smokers trying to quit and have quit, believe me I swore I would never start again and I didn't think I would but I did when my mother got sick the last time then died. My mother was also a smoker and she died from COPD, not a pretty death to say the least. I am a medical technologist and worked in open heart surgery so yes I know the damage that smoking can do but I also know it is hard to kick the habit. Now the person that mentioned they felt really bad after having quit smoking, well the first time I ever quit that happened to me and I thought why am I quiting but the doctor I was working with at the time informed me it was where the nairs and cilia and stuff have been pretty much paralized, probably misspelled, from the tobacco for all the years and were now coming back and able to move things out again so the reason for the stuffiness and excess mucus was because of that. Hang in there it will go away. Bucketta | [Thread closed to new comments] |
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