Coughing up blood (haemoptysis) Te maremare i te toto
People who cough up blood usually only cough up small amounts. It may look like blood spots on a tissue, or it may be mixed with mucus, making it look brown. Even if you are just coughing up small amounts of blood, you should see your healthcare provider to find out the cause.
Causes of coughing up blood
Some of the conditions that can make you cough up blood are serious. It is often difficult to know exactly what the cause is without further tests.
Possible causes include:
- an infection in your sinuses
- a chest infection such as pneumonia or bronchitis
- tuberculosis (TB)
- lung cancer
- a blood clot in your lungs called a pulmonary embolism.
Sometimes the cause cannot be found.
Symptoms of coughing up blood
Coughing up blood can happen by itself, or it can come with other symptoms such as:
- breathlessness
- chest pain
- fever (temperature over 38 degrees celsius)
- a blocked nose.
Diagnosing the cause of coughing up blood
Your healthcare provider may be able to find the cause by asking you questions and examining you. But you may need tests such as a chest x-ray, blood tests or a mucus (sputum) sample for cytology or culture. This will depend on what your healthcare provider thinks the cause might be.
If they think the cause might be serious, they may refer you for a CT scan of your chest or to the hospital to see a specialist doctor.
Treating coughing up blood
If a simple cause is found, you may not need any treatment.
If you have an infection, you may need antibiotics. But most cases of bronchitis and sinusitis are caused by a virus, so you will not need antibiotics for this.
More serious causes of coughing up blood will need specialised treatment in hospital.