Such a symptom of the disease as a cough is known to every person. It appears almost always when an inflammatory process develops in the body. It has to be treated long and tedious, but its consequences in the form of a dry, infrequent cough can be observed for another 6 weeks after recovery. Often, a cough is accompanied by such an unpleasant and annoying "neighbor" as sputum. When it appears, it is imperative to consult a doctor, as it can be a symptom of a rather serious and dangerous disease.
Cough and Phlegm
So, what is cough and phlegm? Why do they occur and is there any relationship between these processes?
Cough itself is just a reflex act, in which foreign particles and phlegm are removed from the respiratory tract.
Sputum is a secret produced by the bronchi and tracheae.
Secretion of mucus is an absolutely normal process. It occurs in the respiratory tract and is designed to protect the bronchi and lungs from foreign particles, dust and everything that cancause an inflammatory process.
In addition, mucus is a real “piggy bank” of immune system cells that can fight pathogenic bacteria.
Therefore, the daily secretion of mucus is considered an absolutely normal process and does not require treatment. The appearance of a cough accompanied by sputum should be regarded as the first "bell" of the inflammatory process in the body.
Cough and phlegm are both caused by certain airway irritants. Depending on the pathology and course of the disease, cough and sputum may be modified. So, a dry, unproductive cough can turn into a wet one. Sputum can change its color and texture. At the same time, it is important to know that it is the type of sputum that is important in determining the focus of the disease and prescribing treatment, taking into account the color of secretions from the respiratory organs.
Types of sputum
Coughing sputum has a different consistency: it can be thick, viscous or liquid. For example, viscous sputum appears with a disease such as pneumonia. But inflammatory processes in the respiratory tract turn sputum from viscous to liquid. Moreover, its viscosity directly depends on the total amount of mucus in it.
Depending on the type of disease, sputum can change its color and composition. So, she could be:
- green or yellow-green (appears with pneumonia, bronchitis, flu - accompanied by a dry cough, which quickly turns into a cough with sputum; sputum cancontain minor purulent impurities);
- transparent (for example, with asthma - accompanied by wheezing and dry cough, thick mucous discharge may form);
- bloody (with cancer and pulmonary edema - cough, in which sputum contains blood streaks and pus; cough becomes chronic);
- bright red (with pulmonary infarction - accompanied by a painful cough and sputum with red blood spots);
- yellowish-brown (with a lung abscess - accompanied by a painful cough, in which blood clots and purulent lumps of small sizes can be traced in the sputum);
- white (with fungal infections of the lungs - accompanied by a cough, in which sputum may have purulent inclusions).
It was transparent, but it became white
The mucus that is secreted by the lungs and bronchi is initially transparent. Existing impurities add a certain shade to sputum. If the sputum is white, it means that it contains such foreign compounds as:
- fungal pathogen in respiratory organs;
- Kurshman spirals.
The first case refers to atypical pneumonia, in which foamy sputum gets its white color due to white lumps. The more lumps indicated, the richer the color of the sputum.
Kurshman spirals are white corkscrew formations. Such sputum accompanies an allergic or infectious cough.
Thus, white sputum can accompany only a limited range of diseases. At the same time, only a qualified medical officer will be able to make an accurate diagnosis.
It is important to know that color change is always accompanied by additional symptoms. These include:
- chest pain;
- loss of appetite;
- wheezing during breathing;
- shortness of breath;
- complication of breathing in general.
These symptoms never occur in the human body just like that. Their appearance should alert the patient and prompt him to contact a specialist as soon as possible.
What does white sputum say?
Mucus, formed in the lungs and bronchi, initially has no color. The appearance of a particular color occurs under the influence of various impurities. So, what does white sputum say?
White sputum when coughing is a clear sign that too much mucus has accumulated in the airways. In this case, the specified mucus is formed due to the development of a certain disease. Thick white sputum when coughing indicates the presence of a cold in the human body, an allergic reaction (for example, to dust or chemical fumes), pneumonia, asthma, or bronchitis.
White sputum with a curd-like consistency indicates that there is a fungus in the respiratory organs. Also, similar sputum may indicate tuberculosis.
White sputum may containand small bloody fibers. Most often, this indicates a pulmonary complication that appears due to damage to the vessels of the larynx during coughing.
Thus, white sputum when coughing (especially in large quantities) is a clear sign of the development of one of the following diseases:
- pulmonary edema;
- chronic bronchitis;
- asthma;
- viral infections of the respiratory tract (tuberculosis).
There is sputum, but no cough
It also happens that a constantly tormenting cough as such is absent, and a person continues to be tormented by white sputum when coughing for a long time. The reasons for this are increased production of transcheobronchial secretions or a violation of its excretion. These reasons may arise due to the following pathologies:
- acute and chronic sinusitis (thick white sputum accumulates in the throat and flows down the nasopharynx, there is no cough);
- pharyngitis and various forms of the course of this disease (with these ailments - sputum is white or transparent, the patient is tormented by constant sore throat; sometimes a rare dry cough may occur);
- chronic tonsillitis (this disease occurs due to the presence of a fungal infection in the body: the disease is accompanied by the accumulation of white mucus in the throat, as well as the appearance of plaque on the tonsils; the course of the disease is accompanied by a sharp bad breath and a constant feeling of presence in the throat foreign object);
- Sjögren's syndrome (this pathology occurs as a result ofdestruction of salivary and lacrimal cells; the oral cavity dries up, which causes the patient to have a false sensation of the presence of sputum clots in the throat);
- problems with the heart system (these diseases are almost always accompanied by congestion in the lungs and the formation of mucus in the throat);
- allergy (direct contact with the allergen irritates the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, which causes white sputum, and in some cases transparent sputum).
Cough with frothy sputum
Sometimes coughing produces white, frothy sputum. The reasons for its appearance are various ailments, including infectious ones. Most often, such sputum accompanies serious he alth problems.
Cough with white frothy sputum may appear with senile changes in the body. This is due to the fact that due to age, the lungs lose their former ability to perform self-cleaning. In this regard, foamy sputum accumulates in the respiratory tract.
Such sputum may also appear due to coronary heart disease. This disease is accompanied by a prolonged cough with copious frothy sputum.
Often, white sputum when coughing appears due to pleurisy and pneumothorax, as well as due to an overdose of certain drugs, radiation damage to the respiratory tract.
However, the most common cause of frothy white sputum when coughing is an abscesslung. This disease is extremely serious and is accompanied by a painful cough, in which a large amount of said sputum comes out. However, it has a very unpleasant smell. In most cases, purulent mucus is excreted from the respiratory tract before sputum is released.
It happens sometimes
In some cases, cough and sputum may accompany a person for several months. At the same time, no other symptoms of the disease, except for those indicated, are manifested. That is, a person does not have a fever, nothing hurts, he feels good and does not feel any discomfort.
Cough with white sputum without fever can occur for the following reasons:
- smoking;
- allergic reaction to certain pathogens;
- sexually transmitted diseases;
- getting into the lungs of foreign particles;
- intoxication of the body with harmful substances, their penetration into the respiratory organs;
- tick exposure;
- heart failure.
In all these cases, patients have an excessive amount of mucus. Sometimes it is produced up to 1.5 liters. Naturally, such an amount of sputum is impossible to swallow (and even dangerous). Therefore, white viscous sputum when coughing (without fever) begins to come out.
When sputum appears in large volumes, it is necessary to seek the advice of a specialist. The doctor, after a detailed examination of the patient, may prescribe a sputum test for the presence of anyor infections, fungal or bacterial lesions, as well as an analysis to determine the causative agent of a particular disease.
In addition, to establish a more accurate picture of the disease, medical specialists often prescribe radiography and other clarifying diagnostic methods.
How to treat?
There are many ways to remove phlegm. You can also get rid of annoying sputum with the help of medicines and inhalations. You can also resort to folk methods, herbal treatment and herbal infusions.
If a person is an adherent of traditional medicine, then a medical method of treatment is perfect for him. In this case, the doctor will prescribe the use of expectorants, as well as drugs that reduce the viscosity of sputum. Most often, these are mucolytic drugs based on bromhexine, ambroxol, acetylcysteine (for example, ACC, Lazolvan).
Besides this, almost all such medicines are based on herbal ingredients: muk altin, breast collection, marshmallow syrup, etc.
There are in the arsenal of doctors and drugs that can bring mucus back to normal ("Ambroxol", "Ascoril"). Such funds, as it were, regulate the viscosity of sputum: it becomes more liquid and comes out faster.
For the treatment of cough that accompanies white sputum, drugs that cause a reflex action are quite often used. Partsuch products include natural ingredients: essential oils, licorice, thermopsis. These drugs include "Gedelix", "Gerbion", "Doctor Thais". These funds have an irritating effect on the receptors of the stomach, as a result of which the bronchial mucosa enhances its work.
Therapeutic measures may also include taking antibiotics: Supraks, Amoxiclav, Doxycycline, Flemoxin, Ampiox. The choice of a specific drug directly depends on the cause of sputum formation, which can only be established by a qualified specialist.
Taking the wrong drugs will not only not help to cure, but will also aggravate the situation, forcing pathogenic bacteria to form immunity to the drugs used.
Treating ourselves
The appearance of sputum and cough require immediate medical attention. After all, only an experienced specialist will be able to conduct a comprehensive study and make an accurate diagnosis. At the same time, it is worth remembering that self-treatment does not always lead to the desired positive consequences.
However, white sputum without coughing can be "destroyed" with the help of traditional medicine.
You can get rid of sputum (which is not accompanied by a cough) with the help of inhalation. It can be carried out on the basis of such medicinal plants as essential oils or boiled potatoes. Inhalation should be carried out in the morning and evening. The duration of each procedure should not exceed 15 minutes.
You can also resort todrinking warm herbal drinks. Decoctions based on chamomile, linden, coltsfoot and sage are considered good remedies. These herbal infusions are diluted with warm boiled water and applied in small amounts 3 times a day.
If after 3-5 days of inhalation or use of herbal infusions no improvement is observed, the patient should consult a doctor.
Supporters of alternative medicine are confident in the effectiveness of such means as:
- jelly from viburnum and honey;
- gruel made from egg yolks, flour, honey and butter;
- beetroot-carrot juice, which also contains radish juice and fresh cow's milk;
- sage infusion;
- lemon juice with glycerin and honey.
There are also those who try to get rid of phlegm with badger fat, figs with milk, linden tea, cranberry juice.
You should not resort to alternative medicine methods if cough and sputum are accompanied by fever and general malaise of the body. In addition, it is worth remembering about possible allergic reactions to certain components of the above products.
Exercise to help
There is a certain set of physical exercises, thanks to which mucus comes out of the human respiratory organs much faster. These exercises are called “postural drainage.”
So, in order to alleviate the patient's condition, it is necessary to remove the pillow and put the patient on his back. Being in such a position, he must slowlyturn 45 degrees, while making powerful exhalations and sighs.
As a result of this exercise, the accumulated mucus begins to be released much faster. After completing the exercise, sputum should be spit out. The exercise itself, if necessary, is repeated 3-5 times.
Another option for getting rid of phlegm is tilting in different directions. This exercise is performed in the position on the side (on the edge of the bed). Throughout the day, you can repeat this exercise 5-6 times (each set of 5 tilts on each side).
You can also put the patient on his knees in bed. He should bend the torso forward (6 times is enough), after which he should be at rest for a minute. If desired, this exercise can be repeated throughout the day (but not more than 5 times).
When performing such "therapeutic" exercises, it is worth remembering that it only helps to alleviate the patient's condition and remove sputum from the respiratory organs for a short period. It is impossible to cure with gymnastics alone. Therefore, it should be carried out in combination with the use of medications (which will be prescribed by the attending physician).
It is worth remembering that physical exercises are best done after consulting a qualified specialist. Exercise is contraindicated for people suffering from high blood pressure and coronary heart disease.
Preventive measures
Any disease is easier to prevent than to cure. Therefore, the appearance of sputum can also be avoided if you are not lazy and systematically take preventive measures.
So, at any time of the year, you need to include in your daily diet as many foods containing iron, magnesium and vitamin C as possible.
During the period of seasonal viral exacerbations, you should avoid visiting public places (or use a medical mask), as well as drink a course of multivitamins. You should also beware of drafts, hypothermia, stressful situations and physical overload.
You should not be in poorly ventilated, smoky, smoky and dusty rooms for a long time.
It is important to stop smoking, because tobacco smoke is quite irritating to the respiratory tract. At the same time, passive smoking is no less dangerous than active smoking.
And, of course, you should harden your body (the morning contrast shower will be a great helper in this). Very useful and morning exercises.
Hardening, as a preventive measure, should be resorted to in the warm season. In winter, hardening should be carried out under the strict supervision of a specialist, because excessive cooling of the body can not only not help in the fight against the disease, but also harm.
Summing up
Often a cough is accompanied by thick white sputum. The reasons for its appearance can be various: from smoking and intoxication of the body to a lung abscess. In this case, sputum production may be accompanied by high fever and other painful symptoms. In addition, thick white sputum may be coughed up, at first glance, with absolutely no symptoms.
In any case, the appearance of sputum requires immediate treatmentto specialists. An experienced doctor can make a diagnosis even by the color of sputum. And additional diagnostic methods will help to identify the causative agent of the disease and the focus of the disease and take timely measures for the recovery of a person.
It is worth remembering that any disease is easier to cure in the early stages. Therefore, if white sputum appears when coughing in adults or children, you should immediately take a sputum test and seek help from a specialist.
