Phlegm is a thick viscous liquid secreted by the respiratory tract organs. It forms the natural defense mechanism that protects you from bacterial and viral attacks and also traps the entry of dust and other unwanted particles from the atmosphere to your respiratory system. The secretion of white phlegm indicates that your immune system is in a perfect state. The color of phlegm gives you the indication of the type of ailment you are suffering from. Yellow phlegm indicates an infection of the upper respiratory tract, whereas dark yellow and thick yellow mucus indicates an infection of the lower tract. Yellowish green mucus means you are suffering from bacterial or viral infection at the end point of your respiratory system. Dark yellow phlegm is also produced in case of chronic sinus problems. You might want to know the black phlegm causes. Coughing up black phlegm is usually common in smokers. This is due to the tar deposition in the lungs. Passive smoking is equally dangerous and is known to cause similar problems, if you continually have to hang around people who smoke. Sometimes, black phlegm might occur due to your working environment. If there is a lot of fine dust or smoke in your work place, you may become prone to black phlegm deposition in your lungs. Coughing up black phlegm could be an indication of a serious ailment like tuberculosis or even cancer.If you happen to be coughing up black phlegm, do not take it lightly and immediately take the following steps:
- If you are a smoker, first of all stop smoking immediately. Reducing the number of cigarettes that you smoke is not an option at this stage. You need to quit completely.
- You need to eliminate the black phlegm deposits from your lungs. For this, you should use a good expectorant after consulting your health care provider. Never ever use cough suppressants as they may cause more toughened depositions of black phlegm in your lungs and lead to serious complications.
- For coughing out black phlegm, you need to loosen it so that it is easily coughed out. A very good home remedy for this is to inhale the vapors of eucalyptus oil. Take one mug of boiling water and add three to four drops of eucalyptus oil. Place a towel over your head and inhale the steam. Doing this for four to five days will remove any black phlegm completely from your lungs.
If the problem persists for more than a week or so, do consult your doctor.
answered by G M