Wife Coughing up Dark Brown Chocolate Colored Mucus!

[aweston]

My wife has been just recently coughing up a Bark Brown/Black colored mucus the type you would probably expect came from smoking. I know for a fact that my wife does not smoke. We know old blood turns brown and we have seen that on occasion but this does not resemble old blood from our experience unless it is so old and can get to be this color. We have never seen anything like it and neither has her CF doctor. They did a sputum culture to test for infection and found 3 strains of Pseudomonas which we have been treating. She has had one strain of Pseudomonas for 10 years and the mucus has never been this dark, not even close. This dark color lasted about a week the first time and started fading and she just started coughing it up again in the same manner today, her second time (so twice in a matter of 5 weeks). The mucus literally looks like the color of chocolate (color sample below). She has been doing rounds of Cayston (28 days on then 28 days off) to treat the other strains of Pseudomonas for the past few months. They also put her on a general antibiotic for 2 weeks to help treat the new strain of Pseudomonas infection and she finished that antibiotic 2 weeks ago. Now she is back to coughing up this very dark mucus once again. There is no red blood proceeding it, no warning signs, she just coughs and then there it is. If anyone has experienced anything similar we would love to hear your feedback.

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[welshwitch]

This sounds like hemoptysis, but the brownish blood sounds like it's older blood, not new stuff. I've experienced coughing up brownish stuff on occasion and it's usually not a big deal -- just my lungs clearing out some older scar tissue. However, there are usually various causes. Our capillaries get strained from all the coughing and sometimes we need extra help there. Vitamin K is usually my first go-to when I am experiencing hemo. Vitamin K is helpful in this situation because it helps with blood clotting. I order special ADEK ones from CF Services that are absorbent. I also take a break from inhaled meds i.e. Pulmozyme because I feel that it irritates my lungs. Get rid of all irritant, reduce stress, add Vitamin K. Hope she feels better.

 

[ladybird]

I have had the same thing and it usually passes. It is old dried blood. If your doctor has never seen this before he or she is not very experienced, it would seem. Unlike the previous responder I do not recommend taking a break from your inhaled medications, they are essential for cleaning out your lungs.

 

[peter]

I am a healthcare practitioner and no pulmonologist should accept "I don't know" as an answer to this. The work up clearly can see RBC cellular debris in the sputum. I am quite confident the responders are correct from their multiple experiences. Any physician who let's you/your wife walk out the door without a firm plan to quell your anxiety isn't very Hippocratic. Harm comes from ignoring or giving it a pass. In my practice that kind of care can be synonymous with LAZY. Would love to know how this works out.