coughing up blood

sarabeth87

New member
yesterday, i hardly coughed all day. well last night, i started coughing and in about there was blood in it. this only happened about 4 times. i was just wondering what it could be. i feel GREAT, so i'm kinda worried. i gotta go to the doc tomorrow, but i'm afraid if i tell her, she'll wanna put me in the hospital and i've never been in before. i was just at the clinic 2 weeks ago and she said if i was not better when i came back, then she'd have to admit me. i just don't feel like i need to be in the hospital. like i said, I feel great. since i started the hypertonic saline, i feel better than i've felt in a loooooooong time.
 

JazzysMom

New member
Oh that darn hemoptysis....if you have an infection going than it could be that or it could be the saline irritating things. For me it varies so I cant say for you. I hope is nothing serious, but if it is you need to get it taken care of! Let us know what happens!
 

thelizardqueen

New member
It could be many things causing the bleeding. It could be the hypertonic saline you've just started, because that is harsh on your lungs to begin with. It could be stress, it could be your period, it could be blood vessels just breaking on you from too many infections in the same area in the past (this was my problem. My doc said my veins looked like they'd been eaten away with acid), it could very well be the beginnings of another infection. You should tell your doc though. As crappy as it is to have to go and be admitted, you don't want it turning out to be a bigger problem later on that's bitting you in the butt.
 

Emily65Roses

New member
If it's just a little bit, and it's in the mucus, it's not as big a deal as it may sound. Yes, you're still coughing up blood. But it kind of happens to us. I've coughed up streaks (that's a little bit of blood in the mucus you regularly bring up) for something like 2 years now. Just this past Feburary, I coughed up pure blood for the first time. And even that wasn't a huge deal. It was all blood, but it was only like 2 teaspoons. I emailed my doc right away (my fiance was worried and I promised him I would) and the doc said "As long as it was a little bit, and it doesn't continue, no need to worry." I had just started nebulized Colistin, and asked if I could stay on it, even though it might be the cause of the blood. Doc had the same attitude "As long as it doesn't continue, you can keep on the Colistin, I know it's helping."

Basically, I'd tell your doc, but don't freak out too hard. Plus, I may be wrong, but the hypertonic saline is pretty abrasive. I just started it last month, and it works real well, but it is rough. It may be causing the blood. As long as it doesn't continue too often, and doesn't increase, there's no reason you can't keep using the saline. I'm still on the Colistin even though it made me cough up blood. *shrug* That's a lot of talking. And I'm no doc, and I can't see your lungs. But in my opinion (from what you told us), there's no reason you can't keep using the saline. Just be honest with your doc, so she has all the info, because that'll properly equip her to make the best decision.
 

anonymous

New member
Two weeks ago my son coughed up blood for the first time- he had been coughing for about 3 weeks really hard and had been on cipro- it seemed just like sinus stuff. We went to the dr and he was admitted for 10 days. His dr says they werent sure what was causing the blood but they most often treat it like an infection that needs iv meds. They stopped his pulmozyme and he was on tobra and zosyn iv. He had a bad reaction to the zosyn and then was taken off it and put on oral cipro. He is doing well now- hope it was just a temporary setback. It could very well be the saline since Ive heard its very irritating. Susan
 

NoExcuses

New member
For me it's always a sign of infection. Basically the bacteria eats away at my airways (and airways have blood vessels right by them to transfer oxygen to the blood stream) and I get a bleeder.

But everyone's different.
 

Jem

New member
Please tell the doctor Sara. It is always best to be upfront. You have gotten some very good responses already to this so I will not repeat. I hate when I see red whether it's a streak or pure blood. I was 18 the first time I coughed up blood and it was a lot. And here I am 30 years later so please do not be scared. Not getting proper treatment that is something to be scared about. I am sure your doctor will not overreact but after examining you will just take a wait and see approach or possibly treat with a different antibiotic then what you are already taking. You are going to be fine but please let us know what he says after your appointment.<img src="i/expressions/heart.gif" border="0">
 
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