Content Sources:
1. Zhao Gang. Relationship between smoking and respiratory diseases[J]. Chinese Journal of Disease Control & Prevention, 2019.
2. Wang Bin. Research Progress on the Effects of Smoking on Human Health[J]. Chinese Journal of Public Health, 2018.
3. Liu Liang. Research progress on the relationship between smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[J]. China Medical Frontiers, 2020.
Li Chen, a native of Hebei, has lived with his grandfather since he was a child, because his grandfather's generation was an old smoker and liked to use tobacco to roll his own cigarettes in the past, so the house was always full of strong tobacco smell. Perhaps it was such an environmental impact that Li Chen inadvertently lit his first cigarette when he was sixteen years old.
As the year 2021 ticks, it has become an integral part of his life. But what he didn't expect was that years of smoking had quietly buried hidden dangers in his body.
As he grew older, Li Chen found that he often suffered from coughing and phlegm, which was cloudy and viscous, and the color was deep yellow, and every time he saw such a scene, he felt a burst of panic and uneasiness. Obviously feeling that his physical condition was decreasing day by day, Li Chen finally made up his mind to find a way out for his health.
He heard that there was a respected old Chinese medicine doctor in the town, so with a glimmer of hope, Li Chen came to the old Chinese medicine doctor's clinic. The old Chinese medicine doctor had a gentle attitude, and his words revealed a reassuring atmosphere. After carefully inquiring about Li Chen's medical history and living habits, the old Chinese medicine doctor pondered for a moment and said to Li Chen: "You are caused by your addiction to smoking, and the harmful substances in tobacco have irritated the respiratory tract for a long time, resulting in chronic bronchitis. ”
Li Chen was shocked, he had never associated his symptoms with his addiction. Seeing this, the old Chinese medicine doctor continued to explain: "Many people think that smoking is just a small problem, but in fact, long-term smoking can seriously damage lung health and cause a variety of diseases. He then explained to Li Chen how the nicotine, carbon monoxide and other toxic substances contained in tobacco affect the body.
Smoking is a common bad habit in contemporary society, and its impact on human health is all-round, especially the most serious damage to the respiratory system. Among them, the yellowing of sputum is a significant manifestation of the effect of smoking on the human respiratory system. The main reason for this phenomenon is the accumulation of harmful substances inhaled during smoking in the respiratory tract.
First, tobacco combustion produces a large number of harmful substances, including nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, radioactive substances, and a variety of carcinogens. When these substances are inhaled into the human body, they will act directly on the respiratory tract and lungs, causing pathological changes. Tar is the main cause of phlegm discoloration, and some chemicals it contains can irritate the respiratory tract and increase respiratory secretions, making the sputum more viscous and gradually yellow.
Second, smoking can also damage the cilia of the respiratory tract. Cilia are tiny hair-like structures located on the surface of the respiratory tract that can be used to transport sputum and foreign bodies to the throat area by swinging, where they can be excreted by the body through coughing and other means.
Long-term smoking will lead to ciliary dysfunction and even death, making it difficult for sputum to be discharged normally, and then accumulating in the respiratory tract.
In addition, smoking can also cause inflammation of the respiratory tract. The harmful components in smoking can irritate the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and trigger a chronic inflammatory response. This chronic irritation causes the mucosal cells of the respiratory tract to proliferate, secreting more mucus, which turns the sputum yellow. Long-term smokers are more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which causes a persistent increase in sputum and darker color.
After learning the reason, Li Chen had mixed feelings in his heart. He realized that even though it was difficult to let go of his years of smoking, he had to quit smoking for the sake of his own health and that of his family. Withdrawal symptoms keep him awake at night, frequent anxiety, irritability, and sometimes even tears in the dead of night.
With the help of the old Chinese medicine doctor and his own persistence, Li Chen gradually found the correct way and rhythm to quit smoking. Although the process was extremely difficult, he was fortunate to have a windfall a year later, and found that he no longer craved the smell of tobacco. The symptoms of coughing with phlegm have also improved significantly, the yellow phlegm is gone, and breathing has begun to become smoother.
Fortunately, it was the symptoms of phlegm that alerted him to the fact that his body might have fallen into something wrong. In fact, the color of different sputum does correspond to the health status of our body, among which coughing up yellow phlegm, white phlegm, green phlegm, and black phlegm represents these problems.
Coughing is a very common self-protection mechanism in the body to keep the airways clean by quickly expelling foreign bodies or secretions from the airways. As the mucus discharged with coughing, the color, viscosity and other characteristics of phlegm can often reflect the internal health status of the human body. Understanding and analyzing the color change of sputum is of great significance for diagnosing different respiratory diseases.
1. Yellow phlegm
Coughing up yellow phlegm usually indicates signs of infection in the body, possibly from a bacterial or viral infection. When the respiratory system is infected, the body produces more white blood cells to fight pathogens. These white blood cells mix with the sputum after completing their mission, causing the sputum to turn yellow. Yellow sputum is commonly found in colds, flu, and certain types of respiratory infections, such as bronchitis or pneumonia. If yellow sputum persists and is accompanied by symptoms such as fever and fatigue, you should seek medical attention promptly.
2. White phlegm
White or pale white sputum is usually the most common phlegm color and may be caused by a mild cold, allergies, or disturbance of respiratory airflow. When the respiratory tract is slightly irritated or impacted by cold air from the outside, the human body will secrete a certain amount of white phlegm to protect the airway. In some cases, excessive production of white phlegm may be a sign of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, or early stage of heart failure and should be a cause for concern.
3. Green phlegm
Coughing up green phlegm is most likely a sign of a more serious bacterial infection. The green color in green sputum comes from an enzyme in neutrophils called pneumomycin, which plays a key role in the white blood cells' fight against bacteria. Green phlegm is direct evidence of the body's fierce fight against pathogens and is common in more serious respiratory infections such as pneumonia, penicillin, auris candidiasis, etc. If it is accompanied by symptoms such as fever and difficulty breathing, you should seek medical attention immediately for further diagnosis and treatment.
Fourth, black phlegm
Black phlegm is rare and can be caused by inhaling large amounts of pollutants, dust, or tobacco smoke, and is common in smokers or people who have been exposed to industrial particulate matter for a long time. Black sputum may also be a manifestation of lung infections, especially fungal infections such as aspergillosis niger.
In addition to this, in some extreme cases, such as coal miners' pneumoconiosis, long-term inhalation of coal dust can cause the sputum to appear black. If it is not caused by smoking or obvious environmental factors, coughing up black sputum should be examined as soon as possible to rule out an underlying serious respiratory disease.
Overall, the change in the color of phlegm is a way for the body to respond to its condition, and different colors of phlegm often indicate different respiratory diseases. Yellow, white, green, and black phlegm each have their own possible disease causes behind them.
Therefore, it is important to carefully observe the change in the color of the sputum when coughing, and do not take the symptoms lightly, especially when the color of the sputum remains unchanged or is accompanied by other serious symptoms, and seek professional medical advice and treatment in time. Through timely intervention, the development of the disease can be effectively controlled and the health of the respiratory system can be protected.