Blood in phlegm: Hi All, Just went to the toilet as... - Headway

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Blood in phlegm

AlexLu profile image
18 Replies

Hi All,

Just went to the toilet as felt that annoying blood taste in my mouth once again and spat some bright red blood clots. Since my accident at the beginning of July last year had two MRIs which did not detect any tumor or malformations or previous intracranial bleeding. Had an ENT nasal scope which looked at the back of the throat and the nose and couldn't find anything and don't have any gastric problems as far as I can tell.

What I can mention though is that Ii experience this occasional daily burning sensation in the left frontal area where the skull fracture is and as soon as this happens, I start feeling the blood taste in my mouth.

Shall I have a 2nd CT to see if the fracture has healed 6 months and a half on?

Going to see my GP tomorrow morning but am very scared as I fear the blood could come from the brain and this is been ongoing since mid October so almost 4 months now...nearly every single day!

Alex

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AlexLu profile image
AlexLu
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18 Replies
malalatete profile image
malalatete

Hi Alex

Think it unlikely that blood from the brain would appear in your mouth (how would it get from there to there?) But there is the obvious connection with ear, nose and throat including respiratory system down to the lungs.

Take a sputum sample with you and they will test it. You may have an infection affecting chest/lungs and a course of antibiotics may be needed.

TaIaV profile image
TaIaV

Dear Alex,

So glad to hear that you are going to see your GP.

The tests you have taken seem to cover all the things that are usually associated with blood in the mouth. I do not have medical training but, if I were in your shoes, I would take comfort from the fact that I had not experienced a decline -- something that would be likely if the blood was a symptom of something very bad.

That being said, clearly, I am sorry that you still have the burning sensation and bleeding. I would ask my GP again about what, other than anxiety, might possibly be causing the bleeding and in what period any further testing makes sense. Are you taking any medications (most of the Mayo clinic site citations for "spitting blood" are side effects of various medicines)?

If your GP assures you that the bases have been covered by the many tests done to date, then I would devote myself as much as possible to stress reduction -- guided meditation, light exercise, really engrossing books, music, holding hands with my spouse, etc. You have been under tremendous stress and somehow that has to stop. You are a system, not a collection of parts. Your intense investment of time and money and energy may need to be complemented by a gentle continuous infusion of faith and peace to regain the smooth flow of energy that is needed for you to regain a lasting balance.

I hope my use of words like "faith" and "energy" do not repell you or lead you to reject the above as fluff. Neither a belief in God nor a new-age bent are needed to make the above true. I can sense your stress and understand it -- you have experienced scary things: It has served you well in leading you to seek out needed information. I sense that soon it may be time to root out that same stress to achieve the well-being you have sought and deserve.

All the best.

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu in reply to TaIaV

thank you for the kind words and no, not taking any medicines!

StrawberryCream profile image
StrawberryCream

Just like Malalatete has said there is no way blood in your sputum could be related to your brain. Have you got a cough or cold because that is more likely the cause because coughing hard can cause it. However, if it persists then see your gp.

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu in reply to StrawberryCream

no, haven't got a cough or cold since before my accident!

If diagnosis of blood on the brain was that simple there would be no need to perform a lumber puncture. Do yourself a big favour and speak with your GP.

Hope your impending visit sorts your fears out.

in reply to

Can only echo previous comments good luck

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu

Thanks y'all. I am not clinically trained but my only fear was that said blood could originate from inside the skull...especially because the blood taste comes in especially after laying on my front in bed and is triggered by the burning sensation where the fracture is.

Like I said I am not a smoker, not coughing and haven't had a cough since May-June last year. The blood thing was first noticed mid-October and been going on daily, it's clearly not triggered by a polyp or some sort of growth from the back of the nose. Could it be that it leaks from the bone or the maxillary sinus?

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu

So I went to see the GP this morning and been advised to call the ENT department at the big hospital here in Notts- after 2 h wait was able to speak to the ENT doctor's secretary who arranged an appointment for me for Monday morning 10:40 with a view of discussing this blood at the back of the throat symptoms. She said that I may need to do a sinus CT.

Can anyone advise what dose does a head CT have and is there any difference between a sinus CT and a more general head CT? Is there any dose difference between the two? I am so, so scared about being radiated 7 months after having had the first head CT as am worried about developing a tumor in the years to come...it's such a shame that we live in a century where we manage to send drones and robots on Mars but we haven't actually managed to develop a medical device that could look at the bone in more detail without using harming radiation like CT scans do. Unfortunately been told MRIs look at organs and tissues but not at the bones :(

So, so scared...

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu

And the radiologists told me that "they can't discuss the radiation dose with patients and such information is usually provided to the consultant but not to the patient himself". Which is a shame really...I feel like the ENT doctor won't be as compliant as to gather the dose information for me prior to me doing the scan...

Elenor3 profile image
Elenor3

Hi

So sorry you're suffering with all this and all the worry. A while ago I was suffering from severe stress and had blood taste in my mouth many mornings. It was discovered that I was grinding my teeth / clenching my jaw and biting my tongue. It stopped when the prblem that was causing the strrss stopped. Hopefully the ct will reveal no problems - but keep this in mind as another possible cause. You may have sonethig really simple a tiny damaged blood vessel in your nose - I've had bleeding from one of those as well. It just cleared up on it's own. Good luck for Monday.

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu in reply to Elenor3

Thanks, Ii know its not from my nose as had an ENT nasal scope back at the beginning of November and nothing has been revealed. Without being very graphic I will describe this blood in the mouth as an immediate consequence of a burning sensation in the frontal area where the fracture is but wondering if 7 months on this would have healed though? How many months should it pass for that linear fracture to heal and "disappear"? Also it is to say that the blood thingy gets worse during sexual intercourse and I can't really enjoy this at the moment due to my ears starting to burn followed by burning sensation in the forehead and top of the head which may last 2-5 mins which also results in this blood in sputum.

Like I said I never coughed this blood, and am not a smoker, don't have tummy pain or anything to indicate the blood would come from the lungs or from the stomach. I think it is connected to the frontal fracture in some ways, I just do not understand how and the doctors have a hard time figuring it out too. Hope I wont have a brain tumor as don't wanna die young.

alcoholfree profile image
alcoholfree

HI Alex - I'm sorry you're having these problems but it sounds to me like it could be sinusitis. The sinus passages (I don't know the technical term) go from the nose into the forehead just around the eyebrow area. I suffer with sinusitis. When I first experienced this I was landing on a plane and suffered the most excruciating pain that I thought I was having a stroke. I now have it often, on-and-off and taste blood in my mouth. The blood comes from inflamed tissue inside the sinus passage. That seeps into the nose and then into the back of the throat as we sleep. This often causes blood and mucus from the nose to collect in the throat overnight so, when we wake up and cough, we cough up blood. But it's from the sinuses. I've been told that I get these problems because my immune system is weak and the docs tell me this is due to anxiety and stress. I hope this puts your mind at rest until you get your scan.

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu in reply to alcoholfree

Hi, can you die from sinusitis? Is there any treatment for it?

alcoholfree profile image
alcoholfree in reply to AlexLu

No. Sinusitis is a sometimes painful and usually inconvenient inflammatory condition. Sinusitis can be treated quite simply with decongestants and anti-inflammatory drugs. It is often linked to stress because stress and anxiety weakens the immune system. I hope your GP puts your mind at rest.

Elenor3 profile image
Elenor3

Goodness :( if it's so clearly defined in relation to time & events then you're right to get it investigated. Please can you post about the results? I've never been told about my skull fractures (how long they'll take to be 'healed' and I get severe pain in two places that I know to definitely be fracture sites - but no one has ever girvn a clear answer about how long it takes to be he'd led and to stop hurting so much. Thank you Alrx - really wishing you good luck for your CT. Please try not to worry about having it, although I understand your concerns about radiation - I'll send you a p.m. In a minute about it that will hopefully make you feel more relaxed about it. Good luck

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu

Thank you so much for your message, Elenor. Your information in relation to the radiation gives me hope as I reached to a point where I thought, well it's been 6 months since the first CT, let's have another one. I don't think I have a tumor as this would have been picked up by the last head MRI I had back in November last year so I doubt a tumour or cancer can develop at such speed within the space of 2 and a half months. Also it is essential to mention that this blood in the sputum thing been ongoing since early October but at the time I had my nasal scope investigation on Nov 6th, I remember I rejected the idea of having a head CT as the doctor wanted to see the sinuses.

AlexLu profile image
AlexLu

Hi, I've seen the ENT doctor today, had another nasal scope and they didn't find blood in the nostril but mentioned there is a bit of blood in the "sinus canal", I think it's the term. Agreed to have another CT next month to see if the sinuses are inflamed and/or if the linear fracture has healed after 7 months. It won't be until march 20th when I am to see the ENT doctor unfortunately.

I asked why do I feel the burning and the tightness in the forehead area and been told that this will last a few YEARS. This is the first time since the accident when I hear such statement as everyone seemed to be positive in August that the headaches and the burning sensation will subside within 6 months.

At the moment my forehead is burning as well as my ears turned red (having said that does anyone experience these symptoms: burning ears that turn red gradually within mins and this absolutely awful tight-burning sensation in the forehead region?

Followed by the taste of blood in the mouth

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