Phlegm is primarily composed of mucous, dead bacteria and virus, dead white blood cells, and various tissues and cells. The difference between phlegm and other mucous is that phlegm comes from your lungs, not from your nasal passages.
While phlegm is an indication that your body's immune system is working overtime to get rid of those nasty invaders that are trying to make you sick, coughing up phlegm every few minutes is still a rather unpleasant practice.
Here are several things you can do to get rid of the phlegm quicker so you won't have to find yourself in potentially embarrassing and totally awkward situations.
Phlegm Elimination
If you're a smoker, cut the habit. Everyone knows that smoking aggravates and promotes several lung and bronchial problems. As if body infections are not enough, respiratory diseases caused by smoking will give your body additional health issue baggage it does not need.
Treat any nasal or sinus infection that you have. As mentioned earlier, phlegm is just an accumulation of mucous and other dead substances that coagulate and become visible.
Take an expectorant. Expectorants are medicines you can take to clear and loosen up any mucus and phlegm in your respiratory tract. They work by thinning out the mucus so you will be able to easily dislodge it when you cough.
Don't take cough suppressants. Sure, it is pretty annoying when you have a hacking cough every five minutes, causing you to spit out phlegm at pretty much the same rate, but coughing is your body's way of trying to dislodge the phlegm.
Drink plenty of fluids and liquids. Plenty of liquids and fluids help loosen up any hard, sticky phlegm that is congesting your system. Fluids also help wash down mucus that is regularly deposited on your throat, thereby lessening their chances of building up and coagulating.
Spit the phlegm out; don't swallow it. Among the many components that make up phlegm are substances like immunoglobulins and glycoproteins that help your body fight off the infection.
There are also home brew remedies you can try that will help in getting rid of your phlegm. Eucalyptus oil mixed with boiling water is a good way to decongest your chest and lessen the abundance of phlegm in your respiratory system. Two to three drops of the oil in boiling water should be enough to do the trick.
Hold a towel over your head and deeply breathe in the steam. This will help clear out congested passageways of your respiratory tract, allowing you to spit out the phlegm more easily. Garlic is also said to have expectorant properties, and is considered to be a good supplement for treating congestion.
When your phlegm starts showing up in different colors, it's about time to have yourself checked by a physician. Take a sample of your phlegm for analysis. Different colors usually indicate an underlying condition.
-Normal phlegm is usually clear and white.
-Yellow phlegm means that your immune system is functioning properly and is responding to something.
-Greenish phlegm means that there is definitely an infection in your body.
-Rusty spots in green phlegm are often an indication of something serious, like internal respiratory micro-bleeding or pneumonia.
-Brownish phlegm can be a sign of infection, as well as symptoms of too much smoking, as resin is sticking to the phlegm.
When this happens, it is always advisable to limit or just stop your smoking habit, as it may be exacerbating whatever respiratory condition you may have.
