Sputum with small streaks of blood

Sometimes, when we cough up phlegm, there will be blood. When we encounter this situation, we don’t know what caused it. In fact, if there are small blood streaks in the sputum, it may be caused by some diseases, or because of long-term coughing up sputum, which may cause damage to the tracheal mucosa. For cases where blood-streaked sputum is caused by different reasons, our methods of identification are also different.

If young people have blood in their sputum, it may be caused by lung diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, and tuberculosis. If people over 40 years old have blood in their sputum, they should be careful to distinguish whether it comes from the nasal cavity, trachea, or oral cavity. Most of the mucus coming from the nasal cavity is exhaled by sucking back the nasal mucus into the mouth, while that coming from the trachea and bronchi is coughed out.

Causes

1. It may be due to the dry climate, which is related to the season.

2. Chronic pharyngitis may also cause blood in the sputum, especially during an attack.

3. Acute and chronic infections of the trachea and bronchi.

4. Rare diseases such as tumors, tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, etc. cannot be ruled out. Bronchiectasis is a disorder in which the muscle and elastic components of the proximal medium-sized bronchial walls are destroyed, resulting in abnormal, irreversible dilation and deformation of the lumen.

5. Other possible diseases include: hypertrophic pharyngitis, actinomycosis, hydatidiform mole, Kartagener syndrome, pulmonary trichomoniasis, etc.

Blood in sputum should be differentiated from the following symptoms:

1. Bloody sputum

Bloody sputum means sputum containing blood streaks and blood clots. Bright red blood in sputum is often seen in tuberculosis or bronchiectasis, and sometimes this phenomenon can also occur when there is inflammation in the pharynx.

2. Rotten peach-like bloody sputum

Rotten peach-like bloody sputum is a common clinical manifestation of pulmonary paragonimiasis. Pulmonary paragonimiasis, also known as lung fluke disease, is an acute or chronic endemic parasitic disease caused by Paragonimiasis. The parasites mainly parasitize in the lungs, with cough and peach-colored sputum as the main manifestations. They can also parasitize in various tissues and organs, such as the brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract, abdominal cavity and subcutaneous tissue, causing corresponding symptoms.

3. Coughing up blood and sputum

Most respiratory diseases are accompanied by symptoms of cough and sputum. Sputum can be grayish white mucus or yellow-green purulent sputum. Sometimes the coughed up sputum contains bright red blood, which is called hemoptysis. In medicine, bleeding from the trachea, bronchi or lung tissue below the larynx that is coughed out of the body is called hemoptysis.