Infections such as the flu, acute bronchitis, and pneumonia can cause your airways to make extra mucus, which you'll often cough up. It may be green or yellow in color. The new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 doesn't usually cause mucus in the chest.
What Causes Chest Congestion? Infection with a cold or flu virus is among the most common causes of chest congestion and happens when the infection progresses from the upper respiratory tract – your nasal passages, sinuses and throat–into the lower respiratory tract–your breathing tubes (bronchi) and lungs.
Reasons for coughing up phlegm without feeling ill. It is not unusual to cough up phlegm with a common cold. However, it can also be a sign of a different, sometimes serious, underlying condition such as stomach acid reflux, lung disease, or heart disease.
According to Medical News Today2, common symptoms of mucus build up in your lungs may include: Wheezing. Difficulty Sleeping. Sore Throat.
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.
On its own, mucus isn't a worrisome symptom. If it comes with a cough that doesn't go away after several weeks, it's greenish yellow or blood-tinged, or you also have fever or shortness of breath, you should call your doctor.
See a doctor if you have any of the following: Temperature of 100.4 °F or higher. Cough with bloody mucus. Shortness of breath or trouble breathing.
A chest infection is an infection of the lungs or large airways. Some chest infections are mild and clear up on their own, but others can be severe and life threatening.
feeling that your throat is blocked. blocked or stuffy nose that you can't clear.
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. wheezing. a high temperature (fever)
What Is a Bronchitis Cough Like? A bronchitis cough sounds like a rattle with a wheezing or whistling sound. As your condition progresses, you will first have a dry cough that can then progress towards coughing up white mucus.
Often viral cases of pneumonia begin as congestion and cough with or without fever in the first few days. When a doctor listens to the lungs and finds breathing sounds are not clear on either side of the chest, a viral cause over bacterial is even more highly suspected.
When you do cough up phlegm (another word for mucus) from your chest, Dr. Boucher says it really doesn't matter if you spit it out or swallow it.
If you have acute bronchitis, you might have cold symptoms, such as a mild headache or body aches. While these symptoms usually improve in about a week, you may have a nagging cough that lingers for several weeks.
Bronchitis is usually caused by a virus and often follows a cold or flu. Antibiotics usually do not help acute bronchitis and they may be harmful. Experts recommend that you not use antibiotics to try to relieve symptoms of acute bronchitis if you have no other health problems.
Most people DO NOT need antibiotics for acute bronchitis caused by a virus. The infection will almost always go away on its own within 1 week.
Because the symptoms of pneumonia and bronchitis overlap – with cough, fever, and sometimes difficulty breathing – they can be difficult to tell apart. Fortunately, a chest X-ray can show a visible difference between the illnesses, helping your health care provider diagnose your condition and treat it appropriately.
Postural drainage is a way to change your body position to help your lungs drain. If you have a long-term (chronic) lung problem associated with excessive mucus, or you have increased mucus from an infection, lying with your chest lower than your belly (abdomen) can help loosen and drain extra mucus from your lungs.