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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is Coughing Up Of Black Phlegm A Matter Of Worry?

Hello there, Before bed last night I put on the electric heater for the first time this year. The heater started to smell like some thing was burning off of it like dust or some thing so I shut it off. When I woke up I had a sore throat, headache, runny nose, and a dry cough. My saliva was very thick and when I tried to cough up mucus there was not much but it was dark (almost black) and thick. My symptoms persisted through out the day. Is this some thing I should worry about? Thank you, Jeff
posted on Mon, 13 Feb 2017
Twitter Fri, 1 Jun 2018 Answered on
Twitter Wed, 6 Jun 2018 Last reviewed on
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Cardiac Surgeon,  's  Response
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

You should be having colourless sputum. Black may indicate fungal infection. Please get a culture sputum test done. Chest X-ray is also must.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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Is Coughing Up Of Black Phlegm A Matter Of Worry?

Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. You should be having colourless sputum. Black may indicate fungal infection. Please get a culture sputum test done. Chest X-ray is also must. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.