Catarrh is a build-up of mucus in an airway or cavity of the body. It usually affects the back of the nose, the throat or the sinuses (air-filled cavities in the bones of the face). It's often temporary, but some people experience it for months or years. This is known as chronic catarrh.
Postnasal drip is when more mucus than normal gathers and drips down the back of your throat. You may feel like you have a tickle in the back of your throat. Postnasal drip can be a bothersome condition that can lead to a chronic cough. The glands in your nose and throat are constantly making mucus.
Most of the time, coughing up phlegm isn't a cause for concern. It helps clear irritants and infections from your lungs. But if you cough up phlegm when you're not feeling sick, it could mean you have a more serious underlying health condition. It can also tell you a lot about what's going on with your body.
Call your doctor if your cough (or your child's cough) doesn't go away after a few weeks or if it also involves any one of these: Coughing up thick, greenish-yellow phlegm. Wheezing. Experiencing a fever.
Your body naturally makes mucus every day, and its presence isn't necessarily a sign of anything unhealthy. Mucus, also known as phlegm when it's produced by your respiratory system, lines the tissues of your body (such as your nose, mouth, throat, and lungs), and it helps protect you from infection.
“Phlegm can be caused by respiratory infections (such as a cold, flu or sinusitis), allergies or an irritation in the nose, throat or lungs,” says Dr. Nasseri. “You don't need to have a lung disease, such as lung cancer or cystic fibrosis, but they can cause phlegm as well.”
Bacterial and viral infections such as influenza, bronchitis, and pneumonia can cause your airways to produce extra mucus. The mucus may be green or yellow in color. Coughing up or blowing red mucus out of your nose is a sign that blood has been mixed in.
Mucus and phlegm are similar, yet different: Mucus is a thinner secretion from your nose and sinuses. Phlegm is thicker and is made by your throat and lungs.
When you do cough up phlegm (another word for mucus) from your chest, Dr. Boucher says it really doesn't matter if you spit it out or swallow it.
Dozens of conditions can cause a recurrent, lingering cough, but the lion's share are caused by just five: postnasal drip, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic bronchitis, and treatment with ACE inhibitors, used for high blood pressure and heart failure.
Bronchiectasis is a long-term condition where the airways of the lungs become abnormally widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection. The most common symptoms of bronchiectasis include: a persistent cough that usually brings up phlegm (sputum) breathlessness.
A cough that occurs without a fever may be due to irritation in the throat or the inhalation of a foreign object. If a person does not notice an improvement in their cough after several weeks, they should consult a doctor for a diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
COVID: A chronic cough is characteristic of an acute COVID-19 infection, often accompanied by fever, shortness of breath, and loss of taste or smell. Pneumonia: Both viral and bacterial pneumonia can cause a chronic cough due to inflammation of the alveoli (air sacs) in one or both lungs.
Clear. “Normally, mucus is clear. When you have a cold or infection, it might turn green or yellow,” said Alyssa. Clear snot usually signals allergies or some kind of environmental factor that is triggering your nose to start running, such as inhaling dust or allergens.
An infection can make mucus thicker and stickier. Infections also lead to inflammation in the mucous membranes that line the nose and the rest of your airway. This can cause certain airway glands to make more mucus. That mucus can get thick with bacteria and cells that arrive to fight the infection.
Signs and symptoms of a chest infection
coughing up yellow or green phlegm (thick mucus), or coughing up blood. breathlessness or rapid and shallow breathing. wheezing. a high temperature (fever)
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.
Some chronic conditions, such as acid reflux (formally, gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are characterized by persistent white phlegm. Asthmatics, too, might see white phlegm when a flare-up occurs.
Asthma and COPD (emphysema or chronic bronchitis) The common cold and flu. Lung infections such as pneumonia or acute bronchitis. Sinusitis with postnasal drip.
Covering coughs and sneezes and keeping hands clean can help prevent the spread of serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and COVID-19.
Chronic cough syndrome refers to a cough that persists for a longer period of time, usually defined as 6 weeks or longer. Often more than one cause can be present in individuals with chronic coughing. Chronic cough syndrome can be associated with other symptoms, depending on the cause(s) of the cough.
Coughs that persist after a common cold or other upper respiratory infection are called post-infectious or post-viral coughs. They can linger for three to eight weeks after a viral infection. There are two common causes of a post-viral cough in adults: Postnasal drip, when mucus drains into your throat.