Cough Up Blood With Mucus

If you are coughing up mucus with blood, it could be a sign of serious illness. To get a proper diagnosis, you should be examined by a doctor.

A cough with blood is a discharge of blood from the internal organs that make up the respiratory system. This includes the bronchi and lungs. The blood may appear as streaks or be excreted as an adjunct to the sputum.

The underlying factors for the occurrence of such a dangerous symptom are always lung damage, which may be due to the course of inflammatory or infectious processes, malignant neoplasms or trauma.

In addition to the fact that blood is secreted during the cough, the clinical picture will also be dominated by other signs.

The doctor can make the correct diagnosis only after examining the patient’s examination data. The elimination of such a symptom involves the elimination of the underlying disease.

Causes

Blood from the mouth when coughing is although a specific sign, but it can occur in absolutely any person. Gender and age is not a limitation for such a symptom.

There are no physiological factors in the formation of hemoptysis, from which it follows that the causes of cough with blood lie in pathological sources. Causing the appearance of this symptom may:

• Trauma to organs such as the lungs, trachea and bronchi. This can occur both for domestic reasons, and be a consequence of incorrectly performed instrumental diagnostic procedures, among which biopsy and bronchoscopy;
• A chronic course of bronchitis – considered as such if it does not go away for more than three months. Cough with blood in bronchitis is characterized by purulent sputum, with the presence of streaks of scarlet blood;
• pneumonia;
• pulmonary abscess – often a complication of a previous inflammation;
• pulmonary hemorrhage;
• tuberculosis;
• bronchiectatic disease – this severe disease can be both congenital and acquired;
• cancerous lesion of the lung – this should also include the formation of malignant tumors in other internal organs, but in which there are metastases in the lungs;
• pulmonary embolism;
• cystic fibrosis respiratory form – is a hereditary pathology, against which there is a malfunction of the lung glands.

In addition, in some cases, the appearance of a severe cough with blood may be due not only to the lungs or bronchi, but also to such organs:

• heart;
• The stomach;
• esophagus, such as varicose veins in this organ;
• Duodenum, particularly ulcers.

Symptoms

The following symptoms may be expressed in adults and children:

• Unreasonable fatigue and constant weakness of the body;
• shortness of breath;
• A severe dry cough, which over time is accompanied by the secretion of sputum. It may contain streaks, impurities or blood clots;
• An increase in body temperature;
• A purulent fluid with streaks of blood;
• pain in the chest area. In some diseases, the pain may spread to other parts of the body, for example, in pneumonia it spreads to the back;
• Increased sweating – this may be a sign of lung cancer;
• Bad breath from the mouth;
• decreased or no appetite, resulting in weight loss;
• attacks of suffocation;
• frequent exposure of the body to colds. Cough with blood in a cold is the main manifestation of respiratory cystic fibrosis;
• frothy sputum with blood when coughing is seen in pulmonary edema;
• nausea accompanied by vomiting. Vomit will also have an admixture of purulent fluid and blood, and when the disease is advanced, it will change its consistency, which may resemble “coffee grounds” or “raspberry jelly”.

If the main symptom is due to pathologies of other internal organs, the symptomatology will be supplemented by signs characteristic of this or that ailment.

In addition, it is worth highlighting the symptoms, in the manifestation of which it is necessary to seek qualified help as soon as possible:

• Strong cough with blood in the morning;
• Significant decrease in body weight;
• Temperature rises to 102 F;
• severe pressure and discomfort in the chest, which is accompanied by bouts of choking;
• expectoration of large amounts of blood and pus;
• A prolonged dry cough preceded by a wet cough.

Types of Cough With Blood

A condition such as hemoptysis (sputum with blood when coughing, or mucus or salivary secretion with blood) can be classified according to four grounds.

The main basis for typing is the nature of the primary effusion of the biological fluid. Accordingly with this criterion are distinguished:

True hemoptysis

• It is characterized by the release of hematological fluid from the lungs, bronchi, trachea and other structures of the respiratory system.
• According to medical calculations and practice, this condition is considered the most dangerous, because it is quite capable of causing a fatal outcome even by itself, not to mention the fact that we are talking about a direct indication of serious diseases.

Pseudo hemoptysis

If in the first case there is blood in the sputum, in this situation we have to talk about its excretion when coughing from the gums, stomach, nasopharynx (hematological fluid flows down the back wall of the throat and evacuates from the body).

In practice, it is possible to distinguish between the two mentioned conditions only and exclusively through objective examinations.

Another basis is the degree of bleeding.In such a situation, it is possible to speak:

• About hemoptysis. In this case, no more than 50 milliliters of liquid comes out during a day.
• About generalized bleeding. No less than 60 and no more than 80 milliliters of hematological fluid is discharged.
• About the profuse form. As a rule, occurs in the last stages of the cancer process in the lungs and in the neglected form of tuberculosis. Leads to the death of the patient due to massive blood loss.

Finally, we can also talk about the degree of bleeding, based on the volume of hematological fluid effusion.The following types of blood loss during coughing are defined:

• Minor bleeding. Not more than 100 milliliters per day.
• Medium intensity. When between 100 and 250 ml of blood is excreted.
• Intensive bleeding. This is the most dangerous condition when more than 250 ml in a day or one time comes out.
• The above classifications are important for diagnosis and prescription of adequate treatment.

Diagnosis

If the cough with flecks of blood does not go away for a long period of time and is accompanied by other clinical signs, it is necessary to seek help from a doctor, who will prescribe laboratory and instrumental examinations necessary to establish the etiological factor.

However, first of all, the clinician should independently:

• Interview the patient in detail – to find out the first time and intensity of the expression of symptoms;
• Examine the patient’s medical history and life history – in some cases this will indicate the cause of the fact that coughing up blood;
• Perform a thorough objective examination – to get a complete picture of this or that ailment.

The basis of diagnosis is formed by instrumental examination of the patient, among which are:

• X-rays;
• CT SCAN;
• bronchoscopy;
• Biopsy – shown in case of lung cancer, which is necessary to confirm or refute the presence of a cancer process.

If coughing up blood appeared due to the involvement of other organs, the patient may be referred for consultation to a gastroenterologist, endocrinologist and cardiologist or phthisiatrician.

Treatment

After identifying the factor that led to the appearance of cough with blood in a child or adult, the patient will be made an individual therapy tactic.

Indications for surgical intervention are considered to be:

• cancerous lesion of the lung;
• abscess formation;
• bronchiectatic disease;
• pulmonary embolism;
• pulmonary hemorrhage;
• ineffectiveness of conservative methods of therapy.

Conservative treatment includes:

• adherence to bed rest;
• administration of medications;
• daily drainage;
• transfusion of blood components;
• passing a course of physical therapy procedures;
• the use of traditional medicine.

Anti-inflammatory and expectorant effects have such herbal and natural components:

• cones of spruce and yarrow;
• oregano and lime;
• St. John’s wort and marshmallow;
• Mother-oil and the medicinal bloodwort.

It is worth noting that the recipes of alternative medicine can be used as one of the methods of complex therapy and only in wet cough with blood, which arose against the background of a cold.

Prevention

Avoid the fact that during coughing blood will be secreted with the following preventive rules:

• Complete abandonment of bad habits;
• Avoiding hypothermia in the body;
• a proper and balanced diet;
• daily walks in the fresh air;
• strengthening the immune system;
• early detection and elimination of ailments that can lead to coughing up blood;
• regular full preventive medical check-ups, including fluorography.

If you timely seek medical help in cases of blood from the throat, the prognosis will be favorable. However, it is necessary to take into account that each disease that causes the occurrence of such a symptom has its own consequences, which are often life-threatening.