blood in sputum

[dchyno]

hey guys, so here's a little history on me:

i used to smoke from 2001-2008

from the age of 16-20 i had chronic colds that usually involved hard coughing and harsh blowing of the nose.

i've had nose bleeding problems since i was 5 yrs old.

in 2005, when i was 20 yrs old i had a cold and spit in the sink one day to find a tinge of blood in it.

up to now i still have the same symptoms but they lessen the more liquids i consume..or maybe they're watering them down? don tknow.

well, so anyway, now that you know all of this, i went to an ENT last year and he said there were broken vessels in my nose that needed to heal so he said stop blowing my nose so much.  i have had a bad cold in the past 2 years since i stopped smoking but the blood is still there.  the ENT said it was bloody post nasal drip.  so a few weeks ago i went back because the blood was still appearing and he did a pharyngoscopy thingy where he put a camera through my nose and down my throat. he said he saw some reddening around the area where the nose breathes into the throat (if that makes sense).  could this be from clearing my throat like crazy in the past?  i know i do it alot and i used to be belimic for a few weeks when i was 17 but that has since passed.  he told me to drink more fluids and try to use a saline nasal pray and some a and d ointment in the nose area.  he basically in the end told me it was nothing to worry about but i'm still concerned as there has been blood in my sputum for quite some time now.  the blood has lessened since i stopped smoking and it almost never appears unless i really hack a loogie for a while or clear my throat really hard.  otherwise it doesn't show.  i'm not sure if this is something i should still worry about or if i should just take the doc's advice and think it's nothing serious.  my lymph nodes swell up from time to time because i clear my throat so much , basically this makes my throat sore, but it goes back down once the soreness in my throat clears.  i only clear my throat to check the blood and if i drink enough fluids i dont see any.  i dont have a fever, cold, flu, muscle pain, or any of that.  i did have a shortness of breath but that's been gone since i stopped smoking.  also the hoarseness in my voice has disappeared since i stopped smoking too.  should i be worried?  i'm a worrier but i just get paranoid sometimes.

if it helps, the doc said "no tumors and your tissue looks healthy, just some reddening in some areas but it looks all normal"

[vaibhav554]

Sir
Blood is coming from my mouth i dont know where its coming from and the blood is light color and my tongue is also gone black from down side 18 months a go i am 19 year old i never taken tobbaco never taken alcohal and i never ever smoken in my life
please helpme

[dchyno]

geez, i also forgot to mention that since i've been using a and d ointment in the nose the bleeding has almost cleared up quite considerably.  and the irritation that usually accompanies it is also lessened quite a bit.  please let me know what you think.  i would really value your opinion.

[dchyno]

oh, the other thing i forgot to mention is when i did have those colds, or when i do have colds, i usually have mucus that comes up involuntarily that never has blood on it.  so would that confirm that it is in fact coming from the nose area?

[dchyno]

would i be able to goto my ent or should i specifically seek out a lung doctor? i also started using a and d ointment in the nose and that has reduced it to where i can't even see it anymore.  also my liquid intake has gone up significantly.  

if i did have a lesion in my lung would i be able to run or breathe properly?  my ent doctor said my lungs sounded good when i went the last time. he didn't hear any wheezing as this blood thing has been going on for a while.  anyway, just wanted to make sure that it was necessary.

i'm trying to avoid a ct scan as it has alot of radiation and could ultimately be the cause of cancer for me int he future if there is nothing happening in my system.  are x-rays safer? and do you think it is even necessary to do so at this point?

[David S. Wilson, MD, FCCP]

It is not very likely but you should talk with a lung doctor about whether your lower airways should be examined with brochoscopy...rarely smokers or ex-smokers have lesions that bleed in the lungs that could be worrisome