Coughs of Many Colors: When Should You Be Worried About Phlegm?

Disgusting though they may be, phlegm and mucus are nothing to sneeze at. Here’s what their appearance can tell you about your health.

By Jack Feerick
Nov 10, 2020 10:00 AMNov 9, 2020 10:33 PM
woman coughing at home into a tissue phlegm mucus illness - shutterstock
(Credit: Pheelings media/Shutterstock)

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Admit it: After you blow your nose or aggressively clear your throat, you might steal a glimpse at what your body just discharged — maybe not every time, but every once in a while. Just a quick peek. There’s nothing weird about that. You’re simply checking that everything looks right. At a time of year (and an era in history) when people are particularly concerned about respiratory health, it only makes sense to occasionally inspect your output, as it were, to be sure things are working normally. 

But when it comes to mucus, what is normal? Would you recognize warning signs even if you saw them? Can the color and consistency of that stuff actually tell you anything useful about your health? 

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