13 causes of coughing up blood: from harmless to deadly

This symptom is one of those that should not be ignored.

If, covering your mouth with your hand while coughing, you find blood on your palm, and even more so if such episodes are repeated, consultation with a doctor is required!

And in some cases, medical attention is required urgently.

When to Seek Help Immediately

Dial 103, 112 or go to the nearest emergency room ifCoughing up blood: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:

• coughing up blood after a fall or injury to the chest;
• a lot of blood when coughing - 2 or more teaspoons;
• besides phlegm, blood appears in the stool or urine;
• hemoptysisCoughing up blood Causes - Mayo Clinic (this is the name of the process of excretion of blood with sputum) is accompanied by other symptoms - chest pain, severe dizziness, fever, shortness of breath.

Such signs indicate serious disturbances in the upper respiratory tract, lungs or cardiovascular system. If you do not seek help immediately, you can die.

Fortunately, hemoptysis does not always signal dangerous conditions.

Where does the blood in the sputum come from?

Here are some of the most common reasonsCoughing Up Blood Possible Causes | Cleveland Clinic, which can cause blood clots when coughing up.

• Bronchitis. This is the most popularCoughing up blood the cause of coughing up blood. And she is also one of the safest. Hemoptysis caused by bronchitis does not threaten health and quickly disappears as the underlying disease is treated.
• Too strong and prolonged cough that irritates the throat. Strenuous attempts to cough can lead to rupture of small blood vessels in the laryngeal mucosa. It’s unpleasant, but not dangerous.
• Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses. Sinusitis, frontalitis capableBlood in sputum provoke slight bleeding. Blood drains into the nasopharynx and may become noticeable when coughing up.
• Taking medications that thin the blood. These include the popular aspirin.
• A foreign object trapped in the respiratory tract.
• Pneumonia or other lung infections.
• Tuberculosis.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This is not one specific disease, but an umbrella termWhat is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?. It is used in situations where for some reason the flow of air into and out of the lungs is limited.
• Lungs' cancer. He, as well as other tumors of the bronchopulmonary system, cause hemoptysis in 20%Blood in sputum cases.
• Lung or bronchial trauma.
• Thromboembolism of the pulmonary arteries. This is the name of damage to the lung tissue, which occurs due to blockage of one of the arteries by a blood clot.
• Vasculitis (inflammation of the walls of blood vessels) in the lungs.
• Severe diseases of the cardiovascular system. These include heart attack myocardium, cardiomyopathy, heart defects. With heart problems, the pressure in the pulmonary blood vessels rises sharply, which can cause rupture of the vascular walls.

What to do if you have bloody sputum

If blood first appears after a bout of severe coughing with a cold, don't worry. Most likely, we are talking about bronchitis or sinusitis. However, it is still worth visiting a therapist or ENT: a specialist will make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the necessary medications. At the same time, he will suggest that you take a chest x-ray to make sure that there is no cause for concern.

If you have coped with a cold or it did not exist at all, and blood in the sputum continues to appear, you will have to undergo additional tests. They will be appointed by the same therapist or otolaryngologist - after asking you about your health, lifestyle, bad habits (for example, smoking).

Try to be as detailed as possible about your symptoms. This is important for a preliminary diagnosis. For example, if, in addition to hemoptysis, you have shortness of breath, the specialist will suspect cardiovascular problems - the same heart failure or mitral stenosis. If you have noticed that you have recently lost weight, we may be talking about tuberculosis or tumors of the bronchopulmonary system.

To confirm or deny this or that preliminary diagnosis, the doctor will give you a referral for one of the studiesCoughing up blood:

• Computed tomography (CT) of the chest. As part of this analysis, the physician will see the state of the respiratory system and the heart.
• Bronchoscopy. Your doctor will pass a bronchoscope (a thin, flexible tube with a camera at the end) through your nose or mouth and into your airways to look for bleeding spots.
• Clinical blood test. First of all, it is needed to determine the number of white and red blood cells in your blood - they are markers of all kinds of inflammation. In addition, the doctor will be interested in the level of platelets - particles that indicate how quickly blood clots when blood vessels are damaged, that is, at what rate blood clots.
• General urine analysis.
• Sputum culture. This analysis allows you to detect infectious microorganisms in sputum.
• Pulmonary angiography. This is a test for assessing blood flow in the lungs.
• Pulse oximetry. A probe will be placed on your finger to measure the oxygen level in your blood.

Once the doctor determines the most likely cause of the hemoptysis, treatment will be prescribed. What it will be dependsCoughing Up Blood Possible Causes | Cleveland Clinic from the underlying disease. For example, antibiotics will help with pneumonia or tuberculosis. If the bleeding is caused by inflammation, you will be prescribed steroid medications. If it is a tumor, chemotherapy or surgery may be required.