After 2 or 3 days, mucus may change to a white, yellow, or green color. This is normal and does not mean you need an antibiotic. Some symptoms, especially runny or stuffy nose and cough, can last for up to 10 to 14 days. Those symptoms should improve over time.
A runny nose with green mucus -- what doctors call "purulent rhinitis" -- is the most common reason for getting a prescription for antibiotics.
Both viral and bacterial upper respiratory infections can cause similar changes to the type and coloration of nasal mucus. During a common cold, nasal mucus may start out watery and clear, then become progressively thicker and more opaque, taking on a yellow or green tinge.
You might have heard that yellow or green mucus is a clear sign that you have an infection, but despite that common misperception, the yellow or green hue isn't due to bacteria. When you have a cold, your immune system sends white blood cells called neutrophils rushing to the area.
Yellow mucus is a sign that whatever virus or infection you have is taking hold. The good news? Your body is fighting back. The yellow color comes from the cells — white blood cells, for example — rushing to kill the offending germs.
Green or Yellow Mucus
It's no reason for concern, and in fact, it means your body is working extra hard to fight off infection. White blood cells rush to battle infection, and when they've done their job, they get flushed out of the body along with the virus.
Clear snot is in the normal range, while white mucus can mean you're congested and yellow or green mucus can sometimes mean that you have an infection.
Sinusitis means infection or inflammation of the sinuses, which are air-filled spaces inside the bones of the face. Symptoms include yellow or green-coloured mucus draining from the nose, facial pain and headache.
What does bright yellow nasal discharge mean? Thick, yellow snot is a sign that your infection is progressing and may have developed into acute sinusitis. There's no need to panic though. The yellow color is a good indication that your body is fighting off the infection!
Yellow. When you blow your nose and see yellow boogers, that usually means your body is fighting an infection. The yellow coloring comes from white blood cells that have rushed to the area to fight off the infection.
Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics if the symptoms are severe and include high fever along with nasal drainage and a productive cough. Antibiotics may also be necessary if you feel better after a few days and then your symptoms return or if the infection lasts more than a week.
Antibiotics are only used to treat bacterial chest infections. They're not used for treating viral chest infections, like flu or viral bronchitis. This is because antibiotics do not work for viral infections. A sample of your mucus may need to be tested to see what's causing your chest infection.
Severe symptoms, such as severe headache or facial pain. Symptoms that get worse after improving. Symptoms lasting more than 10 days without getting better. Fever longer than 3-4 days.
FALSE: If you have green or yellow mucus, it's a bacterial infection and you need antibiotics. Colds, sore throats, upper respiratory infections and influenza (the flu) are caused by viruses, which could cause colored mucus. Antibiotics won't kill, prevent or stop spreading viruses.
For adults – seek medical attention if:
Your nasal discharge is yellow or green and you also have sinus pain or fever. This may be a sign of a bacterial infection. You have blood in your nasal discharge or a persistent clear discharge after a head injury.
Green and cloudy: viral or bacterial infection
A lot of the symptoms of viral infections – fever, cough, headache, loss of smell – overlap for COVID-19 and other viral infections like the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and the common cold.
About 70% of sinus infections go away within two weeks without antibiotics.
Yellow mucus means your illness is progressing normally. White blood cells and other cells from the immune system have come to fight the germs making you sick. Some of them are now exhausted and being washed away by mucus. The texture of yellow mucus is likely drier and thicker than it used to be as well.
Days 3 to 5: Cough and More Nasal Congestion
You may notice that mucus from your runny nose has become thicker, with a yellow or green tinge. This usually is due to a spike in the number of white blood cells your immune system has dispatched to overcome the virus, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Antibiotics are only needed for treating certain infections caused by bacteria, but even some bacterial infections get better without antibiotics.
Expectorants: Expectorants like guaifenesin (Mucinex) help thin phlegm, making it easier to blow out or cough up. Vapor rubs: Vapor rubs provide relief from coughs and chest congestion. Decongestants: Decongestants that contain pseudoephedrine (like Sudafed) can dry out mucus in the chest, nose, and throat.
If you take an antibiotic when you don't need it – for example, when you have a cold or the flu – it can make you feel worse and make your illness last longer. In fact, when used the wrong way, antibiotics can cause more severe illnesses like diarrhea, nausea and rashes.
Antibiotics are effective only against bacterial infections -- not the common cold or other ills caused by viruses. When people use antibiotics unnecessarily, that exposes bacteria to the drugs and gives them a chance to mutate and become resistant.