For about a month now, I have been consistantly cough throughout the day. It started with a lousy cold, but after the cold was gone, the cough stayed. It feels like a deep tickle in the back of my throat that is only satisfied when I cough and bring up some flem. Lately I've noticed black specs or tiny little black pieces of phlem in my phlem. What could this be? I am a smoker, but I have never seen this before. Should I be conserned or is this normal?
sounds like bronchitis to me. after a cold, if cough does not go away, bronchitis. this happened to me, only i did not have the black flecks.
go see your dr, they can give you a puffer to use for 2 weeks and the cough should go away.
good luck
karen
I would be very concerned of this. Smoking causes terrible affects to your body, and NO its not just the guy next door that gets sick, you can to. STOP smoking and live healthier...
to me, that kind of depends. how long have you been smoking? i dont like to say this, but i heard that smoking actually turns your lungs and trachea blackish. is it possible, that with bronchitis, your coughing up some of that? just a dumb suggestion
For about a month now, I have been consistantly cough throughout the day. It started with a lousy cold, but after the cold was gone, the cough stayed. It feels like a deep tickle in the back of my throat that is only satisfied when I cough and bring up some flem. Lately I've noticed black specs or tiny little black pieces of phlem in my phlem. What could this be? I am a smoker, but I have never seen this before. Should I be conserned or is this normal?
You may have had a lung infection which was not treated at all or soon enough.
You may want to save some of the sputum and promptly take it to your doc in a sterile container to have it sent out for analysis. Dried blood from a pneumonia needs to be identified and you may need an x-ray to look for any fliuid or new bleeding in the lungs.
You are doing yourself a disservice if you continue smoking. You may think that it helps you to cough, but it can also help you not to heal.
I have the exact same thing (am a smoker too) except my flecks are also brown and gray. I thought it was dried blood or some sort of fungal infection and asked 2 doctors about it (I was newly pregnant when I had the virus that resulted in my odd sputum)-- neither were concerned in the least. It is now a year later and I STILL have the flecks, and no idea what they are!
I have the exact same thing (am a smoker too) except my flecks are also brown and gray. I thought it was dried blood or some sort of fungal infection and asked 2 doctors about it (I was newly pregnant when I had the virus that resulted in my odd sputum)-- neither were concerned in the least. It is now a year later and I STILL have the flecks, and no idea what they are!
When I used to smoke I just assumed the brown gunk in my phlem was nicotine, just a thought. I quit smoking 9 months ago because I was having a hard time breathing. Good Luck
'm a non-smoker, and I occasionally have this. I asked my doc and she wasn't too concerned about it, but she couldn't exactly tell me what it was either.
I posted this exact question a while back under colds and flu's.
First off I don't smoke. I had a terrible Phelgm illness with post nasal drip.
I was coughing up phelgm with black/gray long streaks in it.
Another girl posted and for her it was Mascara!!! YEP Mascara or eye liner getting in the nasal passage via the tear duct.
I wear black eye liner on the inner bottom lids and black eye liner? Just a thought you didn't mention female or male.
