Green mucus The green color is caused by the presence of white blood cells that are fighting the infection. If the green mucus is accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, it is important to see a doctor for treatment.
When excess mucus builds up and drips down the back of your throat, it's called postnasal drip. In addition to feeling like mucus is draining down your throat, symptoms of postnasal drip include cough, the urge to clear your throat and hoarseness.
The Postnasal Drip Cough
This kind of cough can be either wet or dry, but is caused by mucus drainage from your sinuses down the back of your throat. This drip tickles your nerves and makes you cough. It is normally caused by either allergies or the common cold.
Mucus from infected sinuses can be yellow or green.
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. This coloration is likely due to an increase in the number of certain immune system cells, or an increase in the enzymes these cells produce.
When you have a sinus infection, your snot typically becomes a thick, green color. This is because mucus acts as a trap for allergens, bacteria, and viruses that carries these foreign invaders outside of your body. These waste products, along with dead white blood cells, account for the greenish color of your snot.
Does yellow mucus ever mean you are getting better after being sick? “Generally not,” Dr. Bhattacharyya says. “If you have yellow mucus, it means you still have white blood cells that are fighting whatever is actively causing inflammation or infection.”
Coughing that Sounds Phlegmy
Having a deep, phlegmy cough is common in people with sinus infections. You might also be coughing up mucus, which is known as a “productive” cough.
Even if you're coughing up yellow or green phlegm, you might not need antibiotics. Your mucus color alone can't tell you if a virus or bacteria is causing your cough. If your cough lasts longer than 3 weeks, it's time to see a healthcare provider. You may need an X-ray or antibiotics.
Sinus conditions, such as sinusitis, can produce postnasal drip. This drip sometimes feels like a tickle in the back of your throat, and drainage can lead to chronic cough. This tickle happens when the amount of draining mucus is more than usual.
Post-nasal drip describes the feeling of mucus secretions moving down the back of the throat, often causing cough.
Postnasal drip is one of the most common causes of a cough that lasts weeks to months. It's caused by excess mucus that drains from the nose and sinuses to the throat. It can be treated by identifying what might be causing it and using medications that help reduce inflammation and excess mucus.
Days 6 and 7: Symptoms Ease
Be aware that it may take up to six weeks for a cough to disappear even after other symptoms fade, Dr. Mandal says. Usually, this is due to postnasal drip, which can continue to form while swollen and irritated nasal passages heal, she explains.
Postnasal drip caused by allergies can be managed with OTC antihistamines and decongestants. Note that older antihistamines like Benadryl and Chlor-Trimeton can actually thicken mucus; instead, try Claritin, Alavert, Allegra, Zyrtec, Xyzal or Clarinex.
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.
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.
The most common symptoms that indicate a cold has settled in your chest and evolved into acute bronchitis is a cough that lasts 10 to 20 days, as well as a cough that produces mucus that is green, yellow, or clear.
See a doctor if you have: Severe symptoms, such as severe headache or facial pain. Symptoms that get worse after improving. Symptoms lasting more than 10 days without getting better.
Instead, your doctor looks largely at symptom duration to determine the source of your infection. A viral sinus infection will usually start to improve after five to seven days. A bacterial sinus infection will often persist for seven to 10 days or longer, and may actually worsen after seven days.
Sindwani says. “Usually after about seven days, if you have that yellow or green snot, and you're not feeling well, that's when we might consider giving you a course of antibiotics.”
Bronchitis is an infection of the main airways of the lungs (bronchi), causing them to become irritated and inflamed. The main symptom is a cough, which may bring up yellow-grey mucus (phlegm). Bronchitis may also cause a sore throat and wheezing.
Call your doctor if: Your unexplained congestion lasts more than 10 days. You have a fever of 101 or higher. You have yellow or green nasal discharge that is yellow or green and is accompanied by sinus pain or fever.
Changes in mucus color, from clear to white to yellow to green, are part of the normal course of an illness. It's a sign that your immune system is fighting to get better. Pink, red, orange, or brown snot, on the other hand, is typically not from an illness.