Is coughing up phlegm a way for the body to detoxify? Different colors of phlegm indicate different diseases!

It’s autumn now, the weather is cool, the moon is bright, there are golden ginkgo leaves, and... a mouthful of old phlegm to keep us company!

Liu Shaotang said in "Elm Money Rice":

"But fish produces fire, meat produces phlegm, and my appetite has been lost."

This is probably the symptom many people have experienced recently. They think that they should eat well as the weather gets colder, but they end up not being able to eat. Instead, they produce phlegm that is difficult to cough out and disgusting to swallow.

“Why is there phlegm?”

"Will swallowing phlegm cause harm to the body?"

"What's wrong with coughing up yellow phlegm?"

" What exactly is phlegm?

Where does it come from?

Let me remind everyone first, the weather has changed recently, so be careful of catching a cold!

Well, the unlucky editor didn’t adapt well. It wasn’t serious, but my nose was blocked, my throat was uncomfortable, and I had more phlegm.

This raises a question 👇

Sputum is a liquid secreted by the respiratory tract when it is stimulated. It is also called sputum. Its components include mucus, foreign matter, pathogenic microorganisms, various inflammatory cells, necrotic and detached mucosal epithelial cells, etc.

In simple terms, phlegm is produced by the body itself.

Normally, when there are some problems in the body, such as colds, allergies, infections, etc., which cause chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract or irritation of the throat, the secretion of sticky substances (phlegm) may increase.

At this time, you may hear a "gurgling" sound of phlegm in your throat.

When many people hear the sound of phlegm, their first reaction is respiratory infection. Do they need to take expectorant?

But in fact, the presence of "phlegm sound" does not necessarily mean that there is phlegm, nor does it necessarily mean that it is a respiratory infection.

If you are in the middle or late stages of a cold, the sticky nasal mucus will not be discharged from the nostrils in time and will flow back, thereby irritating the throat and causing a foreign body sensation, resulting in constant "throat clearing".

In other words, there is no real phlegm in the throat at this time. The "phlegm sound" you hear is just snot. For example, the phlegm of most rhinitis patients is produced by nasal inflammation.

In addition, healthy people also have phlegm in their bodies, but the amount is very small and does not cause any discomfort.

Is coughing up phlegm the body’s way of detoxifying?

What to do with phlegm that can’t be coughed up?

Many people, when they feel they have phlegm, will cough continuously, trying to cough out the phlegm.

I don't even know where I heard it from, but coughing up phlegm is the body's way of detoxifying...

This is what happens when you are told to read more books, but end up not understanding science!

Sputum is a way for the airway to expel bacteria and clean itself. For some respiratory infections (such as pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchiectasis, etc.), sputum excretion is very important.

However, it cannot help expel toxins from the internal organs.

And sometimes it’s really hard to cough up phlegm. After coughing for a long time, all you get is dry heaving, and there’s no trace of phlegm at all.

Here is a method to help you expel phlegm smoothly:

① Drink more water: dilute sputum and help expectoration;

② Deep inhalation: Take a deep breath first to reach the necessary inhalation capacity;

③ Short breath holding: maximize the distribution of gas in the lungs and increase the pressure in the airway;

④ Bending over: Bending over can increase the intra-abdominal pressure, which can generate high-speed airflow during exhalation;

⑤ Coughing: The high-speed airflow in the lungs can promote the movement of sputum and expel it from the body with coughing.

If you really can’t cough it out, you can try patting your back!

But there is still some phlegm, no matter how hard I try, it seems that only swallowing it can relieve the discomfort...

But it was mentioned above that phlegm contains various pathogenic microorganisms, necrotic tissue and foreign matter. Will it be bad for your health if you swallow it?

Not really!

Even if there is a respiratory infection, 95% of the sputum is still water. Most of the bacteria in the sputum swallowed into the stomach can be killed by stomach acid, so there is no need to worry too much.

But there are exceptions . For example, the sputum coughed up by patients with pulmonary tuberculosis contains Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is a very tenacious bacterium. If swallowed into the stomach, it may cause gastrointestinal tuberculosis. This group of people must cough out the sputum!

It is best for healthy people to expel phlegm. Although it will not cause any specific harm to the body, it is still a bit disgusting!

In addition, the sputum of rhinitis patients, solving the rhinitis problem is the fundamental problem, need outpatient treatment, solve the root cause of pharyngitis and sputum ~

Different colors of sputum

What does it portend?

Although it is said above that it is unscientific to expel toxins from the body by coughing up phlegm, the color of the phlegm may help you understand your physical health.

Under normal circumstances, the amount of sputum is small and is usually transparent mucus. If you find that the sputum you discharge has color, you should pay attention:

01 Yellow phlegm

This kind of sputum is mostly caused by bacterial infection, and you need to see a hospital immediately!

**Don't take antibiotics on your own! ** Anti-inflammatory drugs are what we call daily. Whether you need to take the drugs, the type of drugs to take, and the course of treatment all need to be decided by your doctor.

It is particularly important to note that if you already have some chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic bronchitis, COPD, and asthma, your respiratory resistance will be weaker than that of ordinary people, so you should pay more attention to it.

02 Blood in sputum

Clinically it is called "hemoptysis" and you must go to the hospital to find out the cause in time!

This situation is mostly caused by the rupture of capillaries in the respiratory mucosa. Common respiratory inflammatory reactions may include acute rhinitis, nasopharyngitis, etc.

In severe cases, it may also be pulmonary tuberculosis, bronchial lung cancer, alveolar cell carcinoma, etc.

03 Black sputum

It sounds scary, right? But it’s actually not that scary.

The appearance of black sputum is closely related to environmental factors, such as being affected by air pollution, inhaling too much dust due to work, or long-term smoking by old smokers.

It is recommended to quit smoking and wear a dust mask when working to effectively reduce the occurrence of coughing up black sputum.

So, although sputum sounds disgusting, it is recommended that you open a tissue and take a peek after blowing your nose to ensure your health.

There is no need to worry too much about normal phlegm caused by colds or weather changes. As long as you take good care of your body, the phlegm will naturally decrease.