coughing up strange stuff.. - Lung & Respiratory Disorders / COPD Message Board

madymoo · 03-29-2001, 05:52 PM

Hello, My brother is having trouble breathing and he is coughing up clear,thick,sticky mucus. It looks exactly like whipped egg whites. He has scoliosis and that has affected his breathing as well. The doctors don't have a clue as to what the stuff is he is coughing up. He has a suction machine and it sometimes has difficulty getting this gunk up and out.We are scared to death that he is going to choke during his sleep. If anyone knows what this stuff may be or of a condition it might relate to please post here or e-mail me at ladybug@emeraldis.com
Thank you in advance, Wendy

cutenbrat · 04-02-2001, 01:39 PM

He needs more treatment hon.
God Bless

madymoo · 04-25-2001, 04:24 PM

For anyone who may be interested we found out what is going on with my brother.The stuff he is coughing up and choking on turned out to be mouth flora...laymans term is saliva. He is not swallowing and everything is running into his lungs.Basically he is drowning in his own fluids. The doc had respiratory therapists come in and do a ng suction on him.This is running a tube down the nose into his airways.I was completely traumatized by the whole thing needless to say so was my brother.He has had this done twice now and they are wanting to continue doing this horrible procedure.We are undecided as to if we are going to put him through too much of this.We do CPT on him daily to try and help move the secretions up and out of the airways.The doc says even with suctioning that eventually his lungs would fill with fluid and he would die.So, now we just do the best we can to keep him comfortable and hope for the best.Thanks to cutenbrat for your time in responding.