Safety and Efficacy of Nemonoxacin vs Levofloxacin in Patients With ...

What Causes Black Mucus And Phlegm?

© Provided by Verywell Health utah778 / Getty Images Medically reviewed by Sanja Jelic, MD

Black mucus is a dark-colored substance (also called "phlegm") expelled from your nose and mouth. It is rare to have black mucus, and it may signal a serious underlying condition, such as tuberculosis or cancer. Your mucus can also become dark if you've been exposed to extreme air pollution. If you have developed black mucus, it's best to contact a healthcare provider.

This article will discuss more about what causes black mucus and how you can treat these conditions.

© Provided by Verywell Health utah778 / Getty Images

Related:What Is Mucus?

Black mucus is typically the symptom of an overarching condition that usually comes with other symptoms like a cough, fever, shortness of breath, or other respiratory problems.

Black Mucus Causes

Black mucus may also be called melanoptysis and is commonly found in coal workers who inhale black dust all day. Certain conditions are also associated with black mucus.

Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis (Anthracosis)

A type of pneumonia known as black lung is commonly found in coal miners. When inhaled, coal dust enters the tissues of the lungs. Over time, these deposits form masses and scar tissue. The black mucus expelled with coughing results from infections and destruction caused by this process.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that affects the lungs. It can cause permanent lung damage and appear with symptoms like a cough that produces blood or mucus. Other symptoms include chest pain and difficulty breathing.

Cancer

When cancer occurs in the lungs, it creates masses and destroys healthy tissue. Bronchopulmonary melanoma is a type of cancer that affects the lungs and is known for producing dark or black mucus.

Necrosis

Tissue damaged or destroyed by disease, infection or lack of oxygen turns dark or black as it enters a state of necrosis (tissue death). Coughing can bring up bits of this necrotic (dead) tissue, giving your mucus a dark or stained appearance.

Fungal Infections

Many types of infections cause mucus production, but some are known more than others for producing darker-colored sputum. One of these is Exophiala dermatitidis, a black yeast infection that is common in people with cystic fibrosis.

Another is Aspergillus niger, a type of fungal infection that can be caused by inhaling black mold spores. People with a weakened immune system are at a higher risk for developing allergic reactions and lung and other organ infections from inhaling aspergillus mold spores.

Finally, mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection that causes black mucus and can lead to dark or black lesions on other body areas.

Substance Use

Using substances like cigarettes can cause black mucus from smoke particles and other debris that collects in the lung tissues. Coughing up black mucus is also strongly associated with chronic cocaine-induced pulmonary injury.

Pollution

People who live in areas with dense air pollution or who work in certain industries may cough up dark black mucus. Like coal miners, people who live in highly polluted areas breathe in particles that can collect in the lung tissue and appear in mucus after a cough.

Breathing in smoke from a large fire can also make your mucus appear darker due to the particles in the smoke.

How Is Black Mucus Treated?

You may require antibiotics or antifungal medications if bacteria or fungi has caused your black mucus. Other causes of black mucus, like coal workers' pneumoconiosis (anthracosis), are not as easily treated.

Black mucus caused by severe disease or lung necrosis can result in tissue damage that cannot be reversed. Treatment instead focuses on oxygen supplementation and symptom relief.

Examples of treatments for severe lung disease include:

Related:An Overview of Obstructive vs. Restrictive Lung Diseases

Complications of Black Mucus

Exposure to pollution, irritants, or mold spores that you could inhale increases your risk for diseases that produce black mucus.

Some complications of diseases like black lung include:

Related:Lung Cancer Complications

Related:What to Expect From a Spirometry Test

When to See a Healthcare Provider

Anytime you develop a cough that doesn't resolve within a few weeks, it's a good idea to see a healthcare provider to rule out serious diseases or infections. Mucus production is typical in many disorders, but black mucus can signal more severe illness. Seek medical care if your mucus appears black.

If you experience shortness of breath, chest pain, or a bluish tone to your lips or skin, seek medical attention immediately.

Learn More:What Is a Pulmonologist?

Summary

Mucus is a mixture of fluids and bits of tissues expelled with a cough or when you blow your nose. There are many colors of mucus, but black mucus often signals severe disease or infection. Talk to your healthcare provider about your medical history and your risk factors for conditions like fungal infections, tuberculosis, or even black lung disease.

Here's what other mucus colors reveal about your health:

Clear: Allergies or early stage of virus

White: A cold or other infection

Yellow: You are in the beginning stages of illness and your body is fighting a virus

Green: You likely feel very sick and your body is fighting a virus

Pink or red: Blood is in your nose from pregnancy, dryness, or injury

Brown: There is a dried blood in your mucus

Why You Might Be Coughing Up Phlegm

The Good Brigade / Getty Images

Medically reviewed by Michael Menna, DO

Phlegm, also known as sputum, is a thick secretion from the airways. It's thicker and comes from deeper in the respiratory tract than the thin secretions you may experience with a simple runny nose. Coughing up phlegm, known as a productive cough, is commonly due to viral respiratory infections that the body may clear on its own, but sometimes it can signal a more serious problem.

Read on if you're coughing up phlegm and looking to learn about possible causes and treatments.

The Good Brigade / Getty Images

What Causes Productive Cough?

Mucus is a normal part of the respiratory system that plays an important role in lubricating the airways and defending us against irritants and pathogens. However, inflammation from various causes results in an increase in mucus production and a thicker consistency. This results in the familiar symptoms of runny nose, congestion, and coughing up phlegm.

Respiratory infections are a common cause of inflammation resulting in a productive cough. Bronchitis and pneumonia are two types of infections that typically lead to a productive cough.

In bronchitis, the branches of the airways become inflamed and produce thicker mucus. In pneumonia, the lung tissue is infected. Respiratory infections can be due to viruses or bacteria. The cough is typically accompanied by other symptoms, like fever, chills, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue, and a general ill feeling.

Possible Causes Unrelated to Infection

While infection is a common cause, there are several noninfectious causes of phlegm production. These include:

Some environmental and lifestyle factors can also increase phlegm. These include:

What Does the Color of Phlegm Mean?

While diagnosing the cause of a productive cough does not rely on phlegm color, it can suggest certain causes. Normally, mucus is clear, but phlegm can come in a range of colors that may point to the underlying cause:

Story continues

Clear or white phlegm may be seen with allergies, viral infection, underlying lung disease, GERD, and heart failure.

Green phlegm may be seen with a bacterial infection.

Pink phlegm suggests fluid in the lungs, known as pulmonary edema, such as in heart failure.

Red phlegm indicates the presence of blood and may be seen with lung cancer or pulmonary embolism.

Black phlegm can occur with pollutant exposure, such as from cigarette smoke or air pollution, smoke from fire, or fungal infection.

Treatment

Treating a productive cough depends on the underlying cause. Medications and supportive care at home can help treat a productive cough.

Medications

Treating the underlying cause of productive cough may include medications, some of which require a prescription from a healthcare provider. These include:

If you are coughing up phlegm and have symptoms of infection, like fever, chills, and fatigue, you might expect to receive antibiotics to treat it. But if your healthcare provider recommends a trial of supportive care instead of antibiotics, know that it's for a good reason. Most infectious causes of cough are due to viruses and not bacteria. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections, so they won't necessarily be effective in the case of a viral infection. Viral infections, like the common cold, will often be cleared by the body on their own and do not require specific medical treatment beyond supportive care at home. Importantly, antibiotics can have significant side effects, and overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance.

How to Encourage Coughing Up Phlegm at Home

Supportive treatment for productive cough includes measures to encourage coughing up the phlegm. This can help rid the body of phlegm and underlying irritants.

The following measures can help your body get rid of phlegm:

When to See a Healthcare Provider

if your cough isn't getting better after 10 days, it's time to discuss your symptoms with your healthcare provider. Other concerning symptoms should be reported to your healthcare provider for further investigation. These include:

Difficulty breathing

Fever, especially if lasting more than four days

Weight loss

Coughing up blood

Signs of heart failure, such as swollen legs and difficulty breathing when laying flat

Summary

Phlegm is a thick mucus from the lower airways due to lung inflammation or injury. Infection is a common cause, but other conditions like allergies, lung disease, and GERD can cause a productive cough. Treatment depends on the underlying cause and includes supportive care and medications. Your healthcare provider can help determine the underlying cause and recommend a treatment plan if you are experiencing this unpleasant symptom.

Shortness Of Breath

TheHealthSite.Com is India's fastest growing health information site with a team of health professionals and writers committed to providing unique, authentic, credible, well-researched, and timely information on topics related to physical and mental health. We use the latest interactive tools, graphics, live webinars and events, interviews, medical imagery, and more.

Health is a serious topic and therefore we present you with engaging, straightforward and expert-reviewed content that helps you make the best decision for any health-related queries.

---