Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Respiratory Disorders (Expert Forum)
Persistant Cough w/ Brownish Phlegm.
Answered by
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.
Persistant Cough w/ Brownish Phlegm.
by rachel1982, Dec 30, 2005 12:00AM
Hello! I am 23 years old, a smoker (quit about a week ago), and started with a cold about two weeks ago. After the cold symptoms went away, I developed a cough. The cough is phlegmy, with a yellowish/brown tint to it and has lasted. On a few occasions, I noticed a pen dot sized speck of bright red blood and it scared me, so I went to my doc. He asked me a series of questions, listened to my chest and lungs and said I sounded clear. I just found out I am pregnant, so as part of my routine blood work, a CBC was done. Doc said my white blood cell count was slightly elevated. He came to the the conclusion that I had bronchitis. He told me not to worry about the blood, just irritated the lining from coughing a lot.
It's been three days since I've started the antibiotic (amoxi-clav), my cough is still present (going on a little over a week), although it does seem to be lessening somewhat. It is the worst in the morning, and all the times I've noticed the blood it has been in the morning. I still have the brownish phlegm (mostly streaks/spots of it, surronded by clear/white mucus, it looks like **** from smoking). My chest has never felt sore or tight through this whole thing. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I went to the immediate care center by my house this morning as a reassurance, and the doctor told me the same thing. She said to ease my mind we can do a chest x-ray, then saw I was pregnant and nixed it.
I'm worried I have something serious, does anyone think this sounds like a typical case of bronchitis or do you think I should be concerned?
It's been three days since I've started the antibiotic (amoxi-clav), my cough is still present (going on a little over a week), although it does seem to be lessening somewhat. It is the worst in the morning, and all the times I've noticed the blood it has been in the morning. I still have the brownish phlegm (mostly streaks/spots of it, surronded by clear/white mucus, it looks like **** from smoking). My chest has never felt sore or tight through this whole thing. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I went to the immediate care center by my house this morning as a reassurance, and the doctor told me the same thing. She said to ease my mind we can do a chest x-ray, then saw I was pregnant and nixed it.
I'm worried I have something serious, does anyone think this sounds like a typical case of bronchitis or do you think I should be concerned?
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish, Jan 13, 2006 12:00AM
, Jan 13, 2006 12:00AM
This sounds like a typical case of bronchitis. If, however, you have not improved after 7 to 10 days, you should see your doctor again.
The blood-tinged sputum can occur with the irritation of bronchitis and your past smoking. In the healthy lung there are small hair-like projections called cilia that clean the lungs by moving mucus out. Smoking can paralyze or permanently damage this cleaning system. When you quit smoking your lungs begin to recover from the inflammation that has occurred over the 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 the airways of your lungs. This may appear as a small amount of blood in your mucus just in the morning. It’s a good sign that there is no blood in your mucus later in the day. When mucus is discolored it means that it has been sitting in your lungs longer. Coughing up mucus is a good sign. It shows that this cleaning system is working again. When you were smoking this mucus would just stay in your lungs. 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 years of smoking, you may continue to bring up discolored mucus for as long as a year after you stopped smoking.
Now that you have stopped smoking, you should take advantage of this start and remain smoke free, especially while you are pregnant. 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 help you quit smoking. Also check with your doctor for other quit smoking resources in your area.
The blood-tinged sputum can occur with the irritation of bronchitis and your past smoking. In the healthy lung there are small hair-like projections called cilia that clean the lungs by moving mucus out. Smoking can paralyze or permanently damage this cleaning system. When you quit smoking your lungs begin to recover from the inflammation that has occurred over the 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 the airways of your lungs. This may appear as a small amount of blood in your mucus just in the morning. It’s a good sign that there is no blood in your mucus later in the day. When mucus is discolored it means that it has been sitting in your lungs longer. Coughing up mucus is a good sign. It shows that this cleaning system is working again. When you were smoking this mucus would just stay in your lungs. 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 years of smoking, you may continue to bring up discolored mucus for as long as a year after you stopped smoking.
Now that you have stopped smoking, you should take advantage of this start and remain smoke free, especially while you are pregnant. 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 help you quit smoking. Also check with your doctor for other quit smoking resources in your area.
Continue to smoke and without doubt you will develop COPD, not a nice disease that will rob you of your breath and your quality of life.
Eros.
Thanks for your response. I get nervous and tend to think the worst. Did a symptom search on google and started to question if I may have lung cancer.
That does not mean you can smoke to 30, every single cigarette takes some lung capacity away, each one does damage no matter what age.
You are lucky to have realised this at a young age, you will do well and have nothing to worry about.
Eros.