Experience or advice please

[Moonmoo22]

Struggling to get my asthma (allergy related£ with sinusitis under control and sometimes when I'm coughing loads there is blood mixed in my phlegm - the doctor knows and I have never smoked etc - just wonder if anyone else gets this from prolonged coughing x

[sarahjane12]

Hi moonmoo22 hope your ok I suffer with allergy asthma and some times when I cough I bring a bit of blood up it’s when your straining and coughing so much good luck 👌

[Moonmoo22 in reply to sarahjane12]

Thank you for your reply!

It's so frightening!

It goes but then comes back when I have bad coughing fits! Is lasting a few days this time but not every time I bring mucus up, it is bright red/pink mixed in so I'm presuming it's ok! It's just annoying as I don't think I go long enough without coughing for it to heal! My throat is so sore!

It's all coming from my sinuses which I just can't get under control!!!!

[Hidden]

Hi it is common with coughing to break one of the little veins in the throat which does result in a bit of blood sometimes. If it is bright red then that's almost certainly what it is.

However if it is darker red then it comes from a different place. You have done the right thing in seeing your doctor as blood loss should always be checked out, but if s/he isn't worried then it should be ok. x

[dinadina]

Yes, I have blood in my phlegm from coughing too hard. I just got over a really bad asthma exacerbation made worse by a move and I coughed up blood again. My doctor ordered a chest xray. Everything was normal! I think it happened with me when I would force myself to cough, trying to get phelgm up.

[nickpeters]

Hi

Fear not, I have several bleeds following a coughing fit, the first was quite substantial losing about half pint of blood, called 999 and ended up in hospital casualty. By the time I got there the bleeding had stopped and after a four hours of sitting in a cubicle I was sent home! Most bleeding is caused through violent coughing which ruptures a small blood vessel. It soon stops and quickly heals; although my last bleed lasted a week and I was bringing up clots of blood, but it eventually stopped and all is OK.

I would suggest that you may be coughing too violently, try and avoid this by using a technique called ‘huffing’. Inhale so that your stomach distends, then give a series of exhalations (huffs, you make a noise like huff) from your stomach area, this should help move the mucus from your lung upwards towards your throat, then a couple of fairly light coughs should clear the mucus. It’s worth sitting upright or slightly bent forward when doing this. Remember, the more you cough the more mucus your lungs will produce.

Best of luck

[Moonmoo22 in reply to nickpeters]

This is such good advice and also reassurance - thank you so so much!

[nickpeters]

The pleasure is all mine. Coughing up blood can be frightening, but most people with asthma experience some sort of bleed from time to time. Drinking some iced water helps if you get a bleed.

Do try the 'huff' technique as I described, I do so each night when sitting on the loo (no I'm not being crude) as the position you sit gives you the correct angle for huffing to work best, plus it offers you some privacy.

All the best

Nick

[Moonmoo22 in reply to nickpeters]

Ha ha that's exactly when I've been doing it! How many breaths out and how many repeats?

Thank you again - so grateful!

[nickpeters]

Sorry but there is no set formula, it all depends on how congested you are. At times I’ve managed on 4 ‘huffs’, but a dozen is not unusual. However my problems are somewhat different to yours. I have amyloidosis (thankfully begine) , COPD plus an overlay of chronic asthma. ...jealous eh? So basically just keep going until you feel comfortable, remember you can always give it another go later on.

All the best,

Nick