Hemoptysis

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Questions to Ask Your Pulmonary Care Team
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Signs and Symptoms

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Hemoptysis is a symptom of many different underlying disorders, from cancer to a mild bronchial infection. In addition to coughing up blood and depending on what is causing the bloody sputum, a patient may notice other symptoms including the following:

• Chest pain
• Dyspnea (shortness of breath, even without exercise)
• Fever
• Nausea
• Tachypnea (rapid breathing)
• Vomiting

Even without other symptoms, anyone who coughs up blood should contact his or her physician or health care practitioner. In most cases, hemoptysis is symptomatic of a mild bronchial infection, it can be a sign of a more serious illness.

Patients are often not sure if the blood is from the respiratory tract or not. There is a big difference, in terms of prognosis (final outcome and expected recovery) and treatment, between hemoptysis and hematemesis (vomiting blood).

Signs of hemoptysis include:

• Any respiratory symptoms, such as a cough
• Bright red blood
• Blood that has a liquid or clotted, frothy appearance

Signs of hematemesis include:

• A history of excessive alcohol use or liver disease
• Any esophogastric symptoms, such as nausea or vomiting
• Brown or black blood
• Blood that looks like coffee grounds
• Dark-colored, tar-like stools (a condition known as melena)

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