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Patient education: Coughing up blood (The Basics)

Patient education: Coughing up blood (The Basics)

What happens when a person coughs up blood? — It usually means that the blood is coming from their airways or lungs (figure 1). A person might cough up just blood, or blood mixed with mucus. When blood is mixed with mucus, it can look red or pink, or it can be almost all mucus with streaks of blood.

The term doctors use for coughing up blood is "hemoptysis." Coughing up blood can happen in adults and older children, but it is uncommon in young children.

Sometimes, a person might cough up blood that does not come from the airways or lungs. Blood from the nose, mouth, or stomach can drip into the throat and be coughed up. People can often feel where the blood is coming from, but not always.

If a person coughs up a lot of blood, doctors call it "massive hemoptysis." This can be a medical emergency. This article discusses coughing up blood that is not a medical emergency.

What causes people to cough up blood? — In adults, there are many causes of coughing up blood. But the most common causes are:

Bronchitis – Bronchitis means inflammation of the bronchi. The bronchi are the tubes that carry air into the lungs (figure 1). There are 2 types of bronchitis. "Acute" bronchitis is an infection of the bronchi. "Chronic" bronchitis is a condition in which the bronchi get damaged, for example, by cigarette smoking.

Infections of the lungs, such as pneumonia

Bronchiectasis – This is a condition in which the airways are damaged and get infected easily. It has different causes.

Cancer that affects the bronchi or airways

In children, the most common causes of coughing up blood are:

An infection of the bronchi or lungs

Having an object or piece of food stuck in the airway – The object might be stuck for days or weeks before a child starts coughing up blood.

Bronchiectasis – In children, this is usually caused by "cystic fibrosis," a condition some children are born with. Cystic fibrosis causes thick mucus to build up in the lungs, which leads to frequent lung infections.

Should I call a doctor or nurse? — Yes. Any time you or your child coughs up blood or mucus mixed with blood, call the doctor or nurse right away.

Let the doctor or nurse know if you remember seeing your child choke on something, even if it was days or weeks ago.

If you cough up a very large amount of blood (about 1 cup or more), or have trouble breathing, call for an ambulance (in the US and Canada, call 9-1-1).

Will I need tests? — Maybe. Your doctor or nurse will ask about your symptoms and do an exam. Based on your symptoms and other factors, they might do tests. These tests can help your doctor or nurse find out why you're bleeding and where the bleeding is coming from.

Tests can include:

Chest X-ray

Lab tests – These might include tests of your blood or a sample of the mucus you cough up.

Bronchoscopy – This is a procedure in which a doctor uses a thin tube (called a "bronchoscope") to look inside your airways.

CT scan – This is an imaging test that creates pictures of the inside of your body.

Is there anything I can do on my own to stop coughing up blood? — Yes. If you smoke cigarettes, the most helpful thing you can do is stop smoking. If you take a medicine that keeps blood clots from forming (a "blood thinning" or "anti-clotting" medicine), let your doctor or nurse know. They might change your dose.

Your doctor or nurse might also tell you to avoid "NSAID" medicines like ibuprofen (sample brand names: Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (sample brand names: Aleve, Naprosyn).

For teens and adults who have small streaks of blood in their mucus, a doctor might suggest trying an over-the-counter cough medicine to control the cough. But do not give any cough or cold medicines to young children. These medicines are unlikely to help and can have serious side effects in young children.

How is coughing up blood treated? — If your symptoms are mild and you had a normal chest X-ray, you might not need treatment.

If you do need treatment, your doctor will treat the condition that's causing you to cough up blood. They can also help stop the bleeding by:

Prescribing a cough medicine to keep you from coughing

Prescribing an antibiotic if you have bronchiectasis or an infection

Changing or stopping your blood thinning medicine, if you take one

Stopping your NSAID medicine, if you take one

If you are coughing up a lot of blood, your doctor might do a procedure to stop the bleeding. The type of procedure depends on the cause of your cough:

If you have bronchiectasis, doctors can do a procedure called "bronchial artery embolization" to help stop the bleeding. During this procedure, the doctor puts a thin tube into an artery in your leg and moves it up to your lungs. Then, they use tiny tools to block the artery in the bleeding area.

If you have lung cancer, your doctor might prescribe radiation or chemotherapy. These treatments kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. The treatment can also help stop bleeding related to cancer.

If you have an object or food stuck in your airway, your doctor can remove it during a bronchoscopy.

More on this topic

Patient education: Cough in adults (The Basics)
Patient education: Cough in children (The Basics)
Patient education: Cough, runny nose, and the common cold (The Basics)
Patient education: Acute bronchitis (The Basics)
Patient education: Pneumonia in adults (The Basics)
Patient education: Lung cancer (The Basics)
Patient education: Cystic fibrosis (The Basics)
Patient education: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (The Basics)
Patient education: Whooping cough (The Basics)
Patient education: Bronchiectasis in adults (The Basics)
Patient education: Bronchiectasis in children (The Basics)
Patient education: Diagnostic bronchoscopy (The Basics)

Patient education: Chronic cough in adults (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Pneumonia in adults (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Flexible bronchoscopy (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Beyond the Basics)

This topic retrieved from UpToDate on: Feb 02, 2024.
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