Sputum, also known as phlegm, is a thick type of mucus made in your lungs. If you have an infection or chronic illness affecting the lungs or airways, it can make you cough up sputum. Sputum is not the same as spit or saliva.
Coughing up phlegm is a symptom of infections like the flu and common cold. Phlegm is a specific type of mucus that originates in your lungs and throat. It's slightly thicker than the mucus that's produced in your nose and sinuses. Another name for phlegm is sputum.
Mucus is usually clear, gray, or white. Green or yellow mucus may be a sign of an infection. Brown mucus can affect people who smoke and those with black lung disease, which results from exposure to coal dust.
Gross appearance and other physical characteristics of the sputum are the result of its content of these and other materials. Mucous sputum is clear or translucent and viscous, containing only small numbers of microscopic elements. Purulent sputum is off-white, yellow or green, and opaque.
So, to answer your questions: The phlegm itself isn't toxic or harmful to swallow. Once swallowed, it's digested and absorbed. It isn't recycled intact; your body makes more in the lungs, nose and sinuses. It doesn't prolong your illness or lead to infection or complications in other parts of your body.
If you're suffering from allergies, asthma or another condition that is causing excess mucus production, it's important to seek medical treatment. However, in cases where phlegm results from a viral infection, such as the common cold, it will usually resolve on its own within seven to 10 days.
Conditions that can contribute to excess mucus include allergies, asthma, and bronchitis. Smoking and conditions like COPD and cystic fibrosis can also cause this symptom.
These symptoms can be unpleasant, but they usually get better on their own in about 7 to 10 days. The cough and mucus can last up to 3 weeks.
Use your stomach muscles to forcefully expel the air. Avoid a hacking cough or merely clearing the throat. A deep cough is less tiring and more effective in clearing mucus out of the lungs. Huff Coughing: Huff coughing, or huffing, is an alternative to deep coughing if you have trouble clearing your mucus.
The main symptom of bronchitis is a hacking cough. It is likely that your cough will bring up thick yellow-grey mucus (phlegm), although this does not always happen.
Therefore, yellowish or green sputum may be a normal feature in patients with viral bronchitis. Also, sputum production in viral airway infections may be clear, white, or even tinged with blood [15].
It is a common symptom of conditions such as the common cold, sinusitis, and allergies. The excess mucus can be caused by inflammation or swelling of the nasal passages, which can be due to a variety of factors such as viral or bacterial infections, allergies, or irritants in the air.
Though they're always at work, you typically only notice the sticky substances when you're sick. 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.
“It comes up at sort of a nice slow rate to the back of the throat,” Boucher says. “And if you're normal and healthy, you never feel it and you just swallow it.” The mucus, together with the bacteria and other trapped substances, then goes to the stomach and eventually pass out of the body.
Signs and symptoms of a chest infection
breathlessness or rapid and shallow breathing. wheezing. a high temperature (fever) a rapid heartbeat.
Small amounts of white mucus may be coughed up if the bronchitis is viral. If the color of the mucus changes to green or yellow, it may be a sign that a bacterial infection has also set in. The cough is usually the last symptom to clear up and may last for weeks.
Someone who develops new or increased red, brown, black, or frothy sputum should call their doctor for an appointment immediately. These symptoms can be signs of a more serious medical condition that requires prompt treatment.
Mucus can tell quite the health story. Too much mucus is a sign of a chronic respiratory condition, acute illness, and some types of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 1 While mucus can be beneficial to the body, producing too much mucus can cause breathing difficulties and infection.
Decongestants: Decongestants that contain pseudoephedrine (like Sudafed) can dry out mucus in the chest, nose, and throat.
Phlegm is a thick mucus from the lower airways due to lung inflammation or injury. Infection is a common cause, but other conditions like allergies, lung disease, and GERD can cause a productive cough. Treatment depends on the underlying cause and includes supportive care and medications.