Sputum or phlegm is pus like substance that is expelled from your throat. Sputum comes out when you have cough or allergic cold or respiratory tract infection. The color of the sputum is indicative of the disease and your doctor would often ask for it during diagnosis. The color of the sputum gains importance during laboratory test of sputum culture. Your doctor will complete the physical examination and collect complete medical history before making any decision. While giving the sputum sample in the lab, it is wise to take the first sputum in the morning which can give a clear picture. Sputum color may change depending on the foods and drinks you take during the course of the day.
Chest Phlegm Color Chart
- Sputum (Phlegm) Colors :
What Does the Color of My Phlegm Means? Yellow, Brown, Green & More Revealed The Cause of Phlegm. Introduction: Sputum colour is used to guide antibiotic use in COPD exacerbations. There is limited data on the reliability of sputum colour assessment in stable and exacerbating COPD. We validated a simple four point photographic sputum colour chart originally developed for bronchiectasis in a cohort of patients with COPD. Methods: 115 patients with stable COPD completed the sputum colour. Sputum (Phlegm) Colors: Sputum not only contains mucus but also cellular debris, micro-organisms and other immune cells. Some people may find traces of blood in the sputum. It may contain dust and other toxic substances in the body. Sputum is of various colors like white, grey, clear, green, yellow, red, brown, pink, black and rust colored. Although for most coughing up mucus is part of the cold season, coloured phlegm can be a sign of something more sinister. From green and yellow to red and even black, off-hue mucus can signal. If your nasal discharge is any color other than clear, it could be a sign of an infection. Check out our handy table comparing conditions to colors to see what your snot color may mean.
Sputum not only contains mucus but also cellular debris, micro-organisms and other immune cells. Some people may find traces of blood in the sputum. It may contain dust and other toxic substances in the body. Sputum is of various colors like white, grey, clear, green, yellow, red, brown, pink, black and rust colored. Let us discuss about every color of the sputum and its significance.
Clear or White Sputum :
It is quite normal to get clear sputum once in a while, but if you are getting white sputum in excess it can be indicative of some internal disorders. Some of the conditions like chronic bronchitis, asthma and pulmonary edema can produce clear or white sputum. The sputum color can be clear to whitish if you have moderate respiratory tract infection. People with chronic asthma can get thick whitish (cottage cheese like) sputum. The color of the sputum would be clear white or grey for those with chronic bronchitis. Medical condition like pulmonary edema can cause clear white but frothy sputum. Other conditions like allergic cold, postnasal drip and GERD can produce white or clear sputum.
Yellowish Sputum :
White to yellow colored sputum is often indicative of infection and allergic condition. Excess of eosinphils and neutrophills can block the airways causing yellowish sputum. Conditions like acute bronchitis and pneumonia can produce yellow sputum. If the sputum is thick and yellowish it can be due to infection caused by virus or bacteria. However this is not the case all the time and it is not necessary that you carry some infection in your body if you get yellow sputum. According to a recent publication of European respiratory journal, only 46 persons out of 100 people with yellow sputum were detected to have some sort of infection.
Green Colored Sputum :
Getting green sputum can be due to chronic infection. A protein compound called neutrophils releases some green colored enzymes (verdoperioxidase / myeloperioxidase) during the process of breakdown. This can cause green sputum. It is the immune system that sends loads of WBC containing neutrophils to the site of infection which breaks down producing green color. Affected person can get large volumes of sputum if he/she is suffering from chronic infection. Chronic conditions like pneumonia (lung infection), chronic bronchitis, and abscess present in the lungs, and cystic fibrosis can cause greenish sputum. However you cannot conclude that you are infected with any of these diseases if you have green sputum. There are many other symptoms like fever, cough, malaise and loss of appetite and much more diagnostic procedures to detect infectious condition.
Brown or Black Colored Sputum :
Brown sputum can be due to presence of blood. Red blood cells are broken down to release enzymes called hemosiderin. People who are regular smokers can have brown or black sputum due to excess of tar or resin and other pollutants present in the cigarette. The body’s mechanism fights to expel these irritants from the lungs as quickly as possible in the form of black sputum. For some people eating certain foods like lots of chocolates and coffee can cause brownish sputum. Certain medical conditions like chronic pneumonia and bronchitis can cause greenish or brown to black sputum. Infectious diseases like TB and lung cancer can cause brown sputum. People working in pollutant atmosphere like that of mines and coal fields are highly prone to get brown to black sputum.
Red or Pink Colored Sputum (Phlegm) :
Dark Sputum Indicates
Red colored sputum is indicative of presence of blood in it. Pulmonary edema (building up of excess of fluid in the lungs) can cause pink or red sputum. Red sputum can be due to leakage of blood somewhere in the respiratory tract. People living with heart problems can also get red sputum. Blood streaks can be seen with mucus and for some people the entire mucus color may change to reddish pink. Blood clot inside the body can also cause rust colored mucus. Red frothy sputum can occur due to lung cancer which advances to brown colored sputum if the cancer has widespread in the body. Medical conditions like pulmonary embolism can cause bright red colored sputum. Lung abscess, chronic heart failure, lung injury and bleeding disorders can cause brownish red or pink sputum.
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Phlegm
Phlegm Color Chart Nhs
Almost always when we are suffering form some respiratory tract infection or disorder, we can notice some sticky fluid while we are coughing. That fluid is, actually, phlegm, a kind of mucus that is produced by the mucous membranes, and it is very important for our body since it assists in the protection from many foreign bodies, trapping viruses, bacteria and other pathogens that are harmful for our health. All the organs of the respiratory tract secrete phlegm except the nasal cavity.
Phlegm Color Chart Mayo Clinic
Phlegm color meaning
When our body produces excessive amounts of phlegm, it means that it is fighting against some infection and uses phlegm to protect the organs of the respiratory tract from the foreign bodies. However, the color of phlegm may be different depending of the respiratory system infection. For that reason, by observing the color of the phlegm, it is easier to establish which infection is in question.
When the phlegm is produced in normal amounts and is clear or white in color, it indicates that the body and the respiratory system are healthy. In the case when the phlegm has light yellow color, it means that the immune system is fighting against some viral infection in the upper respiratory tract, for example, sinusitis. Phlegm that is dark yellow in color means that a bacterial infection has affected the lower respiratory tract and that the immune system successfully fights it. The people who are smoking usually have brown colored phlegm. The phlegm may mix with saliva, dust and foreign matter, and have grainy texture because of that. When a smoker notices that his phlegm is brown in color, it is advisable to reduce his/her smoking since the respiratory tract infection may aggravate. Pneumonia and internal micro-bleedings are conditions that cause phlegm to be green in color due to the presence of the enzyme named myeloperoxidase. The color of this enzyme is green and consequently, the phlegm gets this color. Myeloperoxidase can be found in the white blood cells, and bacteria are organisms that unlike viruses draw more white blood cells. When one suffers from bronchitis, his/her phlegm has bloody color since the blood is present in it. Blood in the phlegm might not be serious when it is the sign of the bronchitis. However, the people are often terrified when they notice bloody phlegm while coughing since it is also a symptom of a serious respiratory disease called tuberculosis.