It can be very disconcerting to develop a coughing fit, look at the sputum and ask yourself, “Why am I coughing up blood?” However, blood-tinged sputum is not uncommon, nor is it always cause for alarm. Find out when you should be concerned about hemoptysis (coughing up blood), and when it’s OK to try treating it at home.
Coughing up blood means expelling bloody sputum (mucus) from the lungs. Sometimes people ‘spit up’ blood, which is not the same thing as coughing up blood. Spitting up blood can mean spitting out bloody saliva due to an injury or nosebleed, or it might mean vomiting up stomach contents with blood in them. These situations should be assessed and treated accordingly.
But bloody sputum originates in the lungs and can only be expelled through coughing. Although it can look scary, you might cough up blood for many non-emergent reasons including:
After a medical procedure like bronchoscopy
Pneumonia
Ruptured blood vessel in the throat due to violent coughing (particularly if you take blood thinners or anticoagulant medications)
While each of these may warrant a trip to your primary healthcare provider, they don’t necessarily require emergency care unless they meet a few other criteria.
Any time a child coughs up blood, you should go to an emergency room. Children often cough up blood due to inhaling a foreign object, which represents a dangerous threat to their breathing.
Adults likewise should seek urgent medical care for coughing up blood if:
The amount of blood measures more than a couple of teaspoons.
You’re also experiencing chest pain.
You become short of breath.
You’re also bleeding from another part of the body, such as blood in stool or urine.
You have a fever.
You have a tracheostomy.
You’ve experienced unexplained weight loss.
Try to preserve some of the bloody sputum in a container to show the doctor. Also try to keep track of when you started coughing and how long it has lasted. Note whether anything specific triggers the coughing. Your doctor will ask you all these questions before proceeding with diagnostic testing.
Doctors may order several different types of tests to determine a cause for hemoptysis. You likely will undergo a chest X-ray, and you may also have a chest CT scan (computed tomography) done. Lab work may include a test of your blood clotting factors. Your doctor may want to do a bronchoscopy, which involves inserting a thin, flexible scope into your lungs to examine them with a camera.
Sometimes, a serious health condition causes coughing up blood. The diagnostic process is designed to identify these causes and treat them accordingly.
Serious reasons for coughing up blood include:
Lung cancer
Lung injury, such as a blow to the chest from a car accident
Pulmonary edema (fluid retention in the lungs)
Pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung)
Respiratory infection such as pneumonia
Unless your situation meets the above criteria for emergency medical intervention, you probably can safely try treating your coughing at home. Avoid using over-the-counter cough suppressants, as these can lead to airway blockages. Instead, try these home remedies:
Drinking plenty of water, which will thin mucus and allow it to be more easily expelled from the lungs
Sipping ginger tea or warm water with honey
Taking a steamy shower to open and hydrate the airways
Sucking on hard candies to increase saliva and sooth your throat
If your symptoms worsen or you have concerns, seek prompt medical attention from a healthcare professional. Infections like pneumonia can easily be treated with antibiotic medications, while more serious causes of coughing up blood may require ongoing treatment and monitoring. Although coughing up blood-tinged sputum may provoke anxiety, most times it doesn’t indicate a serious medical problem and you can try treating it at home initially, unless symptoms worsen.
