Black mucus Similar to brown snot, black nasal mucus can be the result of dried blood or from inhaling something dark like cigarette smoke, smog or dust. However, in some cases, it could also be a symptom of a fungal infection, which tend to affect those with a compromised immune system.
Black snot might be a sign of a potentially serious fungal infection. There are a few different types of fungal infections that could affect the sinuses, which would require medication or at times, surgery, to heal.
Most commonly, people who smoke or are in households with smokers can have gray-black snot. Being subject to heavy air pollution may cause your snot to come out black. People who use drugs may also have black snot. Black nasal mucus may also be a sign of a serious fungal infection.
Green and cloudy: viral or bacterial infection
A lot of the symptoms of viral infections – fever, cough, headache, loss of smell – overlap for COVID-19 and other viral infections like the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and the common cold.
If your mucus or phlegm is black, very dark, or tinged with blood, see a doctor right away. An immediate diagnosis may not always be possible, but it's important to get started understanding why this change has occurred.
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.
Fever or chills. Cough. Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
Clear or light-colored mucus often does not indicate a serious health problem, but when a person has black mucus or phlegm, they should see a doctor as soon as possible. Though black phlegm is not always a cause for concern, it could be a sign of lung cancer or exposure to a pollutant.
clear, white, or gray. usually indicates healthy lungs, but a lot of sputum may indicate a lung disease, allergy, or viral infection.
Dark Green or Yellow
This color often indicates a worsening infection. If you notice dark green mucus, especially in conjunction with fever, coughing, and sneezing, you should contact a doctor to get your symptoms treated.
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).
Common symptoms of pneumonia include: a cough – which may be dry, or produce thick yellow, green, brown or blood-stained mucus (phlegm)
We found a bacterial infection significantly more often in yellowish or greenish sputum samples (Pearson's χ2(1) = 6.32, p = 0.012). The sensitivity of and yellowish or greenish sputum used as a test for a bacterial infection was 0.79 (95% CI 0.63–0.94); the specificity was 0.46 (95% CI 0.038–0.53).
Yellow. A cold or infection may be building up steam. Your mucus can take on a yellow tint when your white blood cells race to the scene of an infection to try and fend it off.
Exposure to pollution, irritants, or mold spores that you could inhale increases your risk for diseases that produce black mucus.
Clear or white mucus often indicates a viral infection, while yellow or green mucus may suggest a bacterial infection. The biggest difference between viral and bacterial bronchitis is treatment, as antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections don't kill viruses.
Green or yellow “sputum,” as clinicians call it, more often than not reflects a bacterial infection, whereas clear, white or rust colored phlegm most likely does not, according to the new study. The results could help doctors determine whether or not a patient would benefit from antibiotics.
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.
The ways to tell bronchitis and pneumonia apart are typically you would need to obtain an x-ray, a chest radiograph to determine if there are signs of consolidation or infiltrate on the chest radiograph. If that is found, typically that is more consistent with pneumonia.
Olson, M.D. Walking pneumonia is an informal term for pneumonia that isn't severe enough to require bed rest or hospitalization. You may feel like you have a cold. The symptoms are generally so mild that you don't feel you need to stay home from work or school, so you are out walking around.
“If you persistently cough up frank, red blood, you should seek medical advice. Fever higher than 102°F, a fever that lasts more than a few days, shortness of breath, a change in the mucus color or coughing with unexplained weight loss are all also signs you should see a physician,” Dr. Supakul says.