The blood is usually from your lungs and is often the result of prolonged coughing or a chest infection. If the blood is dark and contains bits of food or what look like coffee grounds, it may be coming from your digestive system. This is a more serious problem and you should go to hospital straight away.
- Should I go to the ER for coughing up blood?
- What causes a person to spit up blood?
- Can a lung infection cause coughing up blood?
Should I go to the ER for coughing up blood?
Call 911 or seek emergency medical attention if you're coughing up a significant amount of blood, you have other symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath, or if the bleeding worsens.
What causes a person to spit up blood?
Common digestive causes of spitting blood include inflammation or infection, internal injuries caused by trauma, and underlying disease processes such as cancers. Respiratory causes of spitting blood include pneumonia, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and trauma.
Can a lung infection cause coughing up blood?
Infection of the airways (bronchi), called acute bronchitis, and infection of the lung tissue, called pneumonia, are perhaps the most common causes of mild bouts of coughing up blood. However, infection anywhere in the airways may potentially cause haemoptysis. Typically, the blood is mixed up with spit (sputum).