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.

What the Color of Your Snot Really Means. Nasal mucus alone isn’t typically used to diagnose disease, but it can be a helpful tool to determine what’s happening in your nasal passages. 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. Normal mucus is a clear color and is thick and viscous, similar to the texture of glue. You probably don’t have any infection or virus if your snot is clear. 2 As long as your body isn’t producing too much or too little of it, and as long it is the right texture, you should be in good health.

• 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. 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) :

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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The color of sputum or phlegm, which is the mucus and sometimes pus discharge expectorated from the respiratory tract, is often an indication of the type of respiratory disease that gives rise to sputum production. By examining the type of sputum and noting the color as well as the presenting signs and symptoms, a differential diagnosis may be reached prior to laboratory tests and examination – sputum cytology and culture. A thorough case history and complete physical examination is also necessary.

Ideally, the morning sputum specimen should be examined as this provides a more vivid indication of the cause. Sputum samples that are coughed or spat up during the course of the day may lack the features that would provide a clue to the disease process and be tainted by foods and drinks, especially those rich in artificial colorants.

Meaning of Different Sputum Colors

As mentioned under the Types of Sputum, the discharge is a combination of mucus produced in the respiratory tract and saliva from the mouth. It also contains microorganisms, immune cells, cellular debris, dust and possibly even blood components or whole blood (plasma and blood cells). Depending on the quantity of these components and disease process, the sputum color may vary between :

• Clear
• White
• Gray
• Yellow
• Green
• Brown
• Pink
• Red
• Rust-colored
• Black

Phlegm Color Chart Cough

Clear, White, Gray Sputum

Clear sputum is considered as normal, however, there are many conditions that may cause excessive sputum production. A profuse amount of clear sputum should therefore be considered as abnormal.

• Pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) – clear, white or pink frothy sputum
• Viral respiratory tract infections – clear to white (acute)
• Chronic bronchitis (COPD) – clear to gray
• Asthma – white to yellow (thick)

Yellow Sputum

Yellow colored sputum is due to the presence of white blood cells, particularly neutrophils and eosinphils. These cells are often present in chronic inflammation, allergic and infectious causes. With infections, it is often in the acute setting that yellow sputum is evident due to the presence of live neutrophils. With allergic conditions, particularly airway hypersensitivity, the yellowish sputum is due to the presence of eosinophils.

• Acute bronchitis – white to yellow
• Acute pneumonia – white to yellow
• Asthma – white to yellow (thick)

Green Sputum

Gerd Phlegm Color Chart

Green mucus is indicative of a long-standing, possibly chronic, infection. Set virtual vmix. The color is a result of the breakdown of neutrophils and the release of verdoperioxidase / myeloperioxidase, an enzyme that is present within these cells. It may also be seen in long standing non-infectious inflammatory conditions. With infections, the green sputum will be more purulent (large amounts of pus) while in non-infectious inflammatory conditions, the green sputum will be more mucoid (large amounts of mucus).

• Pneumonia – white, yellow or green
• Lung abscess – green, sudden accumulation of large amount of sputum if the abscess ruptures
• Chronic bronchitis – clear, grey to green (infection)
• Bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis – green

Brown and Black Sputum

Covid-19 Symptoms And Phlegm Color Chart

Brown or black sputum is an indication of ‘old blood’ and the color may be due to the breakdown of red blood cells thereby releasing hemosiderin (from hemoglobin). Certain organic and non-organic dusts may also cause a brown to black discoloration of the sputum.

• Chronic bronchitis – green, yellow, brown (infection)
• Chronic pneumonia – white, yellow, green to brown
• Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis – brown to black
• Tuberculosis – red to brown or black
• Lung cancer – red to brown to black

Red, Pink and Rust-Colored Sputum

Red sputum is usually an indication of whole blood that is more profuse than bleeding in pink colored sputum. It may completely discolor the mucus or appear as streaks or spots. Pink sputum is also a sign of bleeding but usually of smaller quantities that may stain or streak the sputum. Rust colored sputum is also due to the bleeding although the clotting process may have commenced and the red blood cells may have broken down.

• Pneumococcal pneumonia – rusty-red
• Lung cancer – pink to red (frothy) progressing to brown or black
• Tuberculosis – bright red streaks progressing to fully red sputum (hemoptysis)
• Pulmonary embolism – bright red blood (acute)

Dark Sputum Indicates

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