One of the first signs of a cold is green or yellow mucus. It's no reason for concern, and in fact, it means your body is working extra hard to fight off infection. White blood cells rush to battle infection, and when they've done their job, they get flushed out of the body along with the virus.
Thick, yellow snot is a sign that your infection is progressing and may have developed into acute sinusitis. There's no need to panic though. The yellow color is a good indication that your body is fighting off the infection!
Yellow mucus means your illness is progressing normally. White blood cells and other cells from the immune system have come to fight the germs making you sick. Some of them are now exhausted and being washed away by mucus. The texture of yellow mucus is likely drier and thicker than it used to be as well.
Both viral and bacterial upper respiratory infections can cause similar changes to the type and coloration of nasal mucus. 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.
Clear snot is in the normal range, while white mucus can mean you're congested and yellow or green mucus can sometimes mean that you have an infection.
Green or Yellow Mucus
It's no reason for concern, and in fact, it means your body is working extra hard to fight off infection. White blood cells rush to battle infection, and when they've done their job, they get flushed out of the body along with the virus.
We're often told – even by doctors – that green or yellow secretions indicate you're infectious. But this isn't true. It's unclear how this myth arose, but it's likely a misunderstanding of the appearance and colour of pus.
The yellow color comes from the cells — white blood cells, for example — rushing to kill the offending germs. Once the cells have done their work, they're discarded in your snot and give it a dark yellowish tinge. Your illness may last anywhere from 10 to 14 days, but keep an eye on your nasal discharge.
You might also cough up thick, yellow or green mucus. These symptoms may also occur with a cold. But if they last for more than a week or are severe, you may have a bacterial infection and need antibiotics. Only your doctor can prescribe antibiotics.
The stages of a cold include the incubation period, appearance of symptoms, remission, and recovery.
Nose blowing can relieve some sinus pressure and provide comfort, but it cannot clear the bacterial or viral infection of the sinuses. The infections require medical attention.
Blowing the nose regularly prevents mucus building up and running down from the nostrils towards the upper lip, the all-too-familiar runny nose. Later in colds and with sinusitis, nasal mucus can become thick, sticky and harder to clear.
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.
Seasonal allergies usually produce clear nasal secretions, she said, although sinus infections may confuse the picture. Sometimes allergy sufferers develop sinus infections, which can result in yellow-colored nasal discharge.
“Normally, mucus is clear. When you have a cold or infection, it might turn green or yellow,” said Alyssa. Clear snot usually signals allergies or some kind of environmental factor that is triggering your nose to start running, such as inhaling dust or allergens. Clear snot is nothing to worry about.
You might have heard that yellow or green mucus is a clear sign that you have an infection, but despite that common misperception, the yellow or green hue isn't due to bacteria. When you have a cold, your immune system sends white blood cells called neutrophils rushing to the area.
Mucus that's green-tinged or yellow can mean that your sinuses have been exposed to an irritant, often an infection. One form your mucus can take is a thick, rubbery, solid consistency. This can be a sign of anything from dry air in your home to a bacterial infection.
But if you're really hacking and coughing up yellow or green mucus, and you've also got a fever, chills, and shortness of breath, you may have picked up a more serious infection, called pneumonia.
Is green mucus more of a concern than clear mucus? Children with clear mucous at the beginning of a cold are most contagious. Green nasal mucus (usually found toward the end of the cold) is less contagious than clear mucus.
Cloudy or white mucus is a sign of a cold. Yellow or green mucus is a sign of a bacterial infection. Brown or orange mucus is sign of dried red blood cells and inflammation (aka a dry nose).
I'm occasionally asked whether swallowing mucus produced with a respiratory infection is harmful. It's not; luckily the stomach works to neutralise bacteria and recycle the other cellular debris. Some people do report a queasy feeling in the stomach during such infections.
A hot shower won't make your cold or flu disappear, but it can help you treat the uncomfortable symptoms. Benefits of hot showers include: Loosening chest congestion by breathing in steam. Clearing stuffy nasal passages with moisture.