Brown/Orange Mucus coming out of left nostril....Right nostril = clear mucus???

[sogr8ul]

I am a 22 year old male smoker (about a half a pack a day).

For the past two days I have noticed that mucus (which I've been having a lot of lately) coming from my left nostril is a dark orange (hinting on being brown).  I also cough up this color mucus.  However, mucus from my right nostril is completely clear.  Does anyone know what could cause this?

I don't know if this helps but I have also had a chronically undiagnosed cough for the past 4 months.  The weird thing about the cough is it only occurs in the morning when I first wake up...it is a violent cough and almost feels like I can't breathe.

Thanks in advance for any help...

[National Jewish]

Most likely this is coming from one or more of your sinuses.  It can be an infection or simply an inflammation that is not infected.  There is also a good possibility that this is the cause of your 4-month cough.  Having a CT of your sinuses might be a good idea.  I would speak to your doctor about sinusitis.  Sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinus cavities.  Inflammation of the sinuses could be due to an allergy, an infection, or ongoing exposure to an irritant, such as pollution or smoke.

[ozark]

it sounds like you might have  sinus irritation on that side and post nasal drip......do u have any pain on that side? u should drink lots of water and blow your nose well to clear the mucous  to prevent infection which you may already have............good luck

[sogr8ul]

UPDATE: Woke up this morning and things are back to normal...just kind of freaked me out because I've never seen that color mucus before and couldn't understand why it would only come out of one nostril.  Thanks for the help!

[wilkat]

If you continue to have the orangish-brown mucus, you really need to have this checked out.  It could be a fungal infection.