Blood in Mucus

Hemoptysis or spitting up mucus tinted with blood can be frightening. This blood may appear in large or small quantities and may develop into an acute condition over time. Coughing up bloody mucus could be a sign of serious conditions like bronchitis, tumors or lung cancer so it is important to investigate these symptoms when they appear. You may also notice blood when blowing your nose which can be a sign that the damage is not restricted to the respiratory area. Blood in mucus should not be taken lightly, both causes call for serious attention.

Blood in Sputum

Causes

Most causes that lead to blood in the mucus are signs that something is causing damage to the respiratory system that should be investigated by a doctor right away.

Symptoms

Hemoptysis may cause symptoms in addition to blood appearing in the mucus. These symptoms may increase in severity and can help you determine the specific cause of your discomfort.

Coughing up blood may be a sign of a more serious medical condition. If you have blood in your mucus for longer than a week, your symptoms come and go, your condition is severe or your condition gets progressively worse, contact your doctor immediately. You should also seek medical assistance if you have soaking sweats at night, chest pain, shortness of breath when performing your normal activity level, weight loss or a fever over 101 degrees. Those that require treatment for coughing up blood are typically hospitalized until the bleeding passes and the cause for these symptoms can be identified.

Treatments

Blood in Nasal Mucus

You may experience bloody discharge in the mucus from your nose due to upper nose bleeding or lower nose bleeding. Lower nose bleeding refers to bleeding from the lower septum that acts as partition between the two cavities and tissues of the nose. In general you will only need to seek medical attention for lower nose bleeding if it will not stop.

Causes

However, in most cases blood appearing in the mucus is harmless and will disappear once the condition causing it to appear has faded.

Treatments

If your nose continues to bleed for more than 15 minutes, contact your doctor immediately.

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