# Black Phlegm



## Eli's_mommy

I have a really scary question. I am in complete denial about this because it scares the hell out of me. For the last four or five years or so, I've been coughing up thick clear phlegm with black spots in it. It does not appear to be dried blood. It almost seems tarry, for lack of a better word. I do not smoke. I did smoke for about five years when I was much younger- maybe 4 cigarettes a day- so honestly not much. I also used to smoke marijuana a bit, but also not excessively. I quit smoking both about the same time- I'd say 2000/2001 or so. I work in an office- so I don't think I'm exposed to anything too awful, except for maybe recycled air.

I have brought this up with a Dr. only once, and he basically blew me off (it was not my normal dr). I am honestly scared to go to the dr about this. I cannot find anything really about this on the internet. The only things I've found regarding black phlegm are 1. having the black lung (which I think they mean entirely black phlegm, where mine is just spotted), 2. smoking crack (which I do not do and never have done!!!), 3. and I found a very small amount of information tying it to smoking marijuana. In that tiny amount of information, however, it said it should go away a couple months after you quit smoking.

There is no rhyme or reason to when it happens. Sometime it wont happen for months, and then other times I'll cough up black phlegm on 3 or 4 occassions in one week. I do not have a cough, I do not have more trouble breathing than normal (I have very mild asthma that is normally triggered by my anxiety attacks-which are now very rare), I really don't have ANY other symptoms.

I think I'm going to break down and go to the doctors office, but I was hoping someone else had an idea of what this may be??? Maybe someone has gone through this before, or knows someone who's gone through this before?

I'm wondering that since the phlegm is so thick that maybe this is some kind of nasal infection with post nasal drip?

Please help me, I am really stressed about this







:

Edited- I forgot to mention that in 2000 the office I worked in caught on fire and I was in the building while it happened. We worked on a skeleton crew after that in my managers house with some of the equipment that had tons of smoke damage.


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## TopazBlueMama

I'm sorry, I don't blame you for being worried! I have no idea what could be wrong, but I'm guessing your instincts or right on...
Good luck finding out more!


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## Eli's_mommy

FYI- should this happen to anyone else...

I went to the doc and found out it is NOT coming from my lungs.









She believes it is actually coming from my sinuses







That's probably bad too, but at least I'm probably not dying. She did say she's never ever seen anything like that, so that's a little bizarre. Dp thinks my body is just super good at cleansing itself out and I'm getting rid of the everyday pollution we breathe in...







Wishful thinking?


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## kaPOW!

Interesting! Thanks for updating (glad you're not dying!!!)


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## Bartock

Did you ever use to smoke? If so, it could be Tar comming out of your lungs. Nevermind you got it figured out, glad your okay, and thanks again for the pump, just waiting for the parts you forgot to send with it


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## Eli's_mommy

I'm glad I'm not dying too







and pump parts are on their way! I feel like such a turd


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## mamademateo

a loong time ago i was learning kundalini yoga and ayurveda from this man.
coughing up black threads was sppose to mean really deep detoxing.. so maybe your just removing some deep seated emotional stuff..


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## Eli's_mommy

You guys are not going to believe this.

It's liquid eyeliner. When you get liquid eyeliner in your eye, it kind of spreads and gets back into your sinuses.

And I was scared









Just wanted to post in case this happened to anyone else!!!


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## kaPOW!

Whoa! That is so weird. I'm really glad that I don't wear eyemakeup now!!! But, it sounds like your sinuses are working Wonderfully. Thanks for updating, I never ever ever would have guessed that.







:


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## Village Mama

Wow!!!! Did they test it, or did you suddenly figure that out yourself. That would be quite the realisation!


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## KMK_Mama

Oh my gosh, that is so crazy!







:

I wanna know how they figured that out too........Totally weird!


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## jocelyndale

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eli's_mommy* 
You guys are not going to believe this.

It's liquid eyeliner. When you get liquid eyeliner in your eye, it kind of spreads and gets back into your sinuses.

I actually wondered about that.







I've seen the same thing happen to myself.

Tear ducts drain into the sinuses/nose.


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## Eli's_mommy

It was a sudden realization, but I called my physician who says that is most likely what it is! It was wild. I used to have anxiety attacks about this and thought I was dying! Sheesh


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## AngelBee

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eli's_mommy* 
It was a sudden realization, but I called my physician who says that is most likely what it is! It was wild. I used to have anxiety attacks about this and thought I was dying! Sheesh









Oh my goodness!


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## Aura_Kitten

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Eli's_mommy* 
You guys are not going to believe this.

It's liquid eyeliner. When you get liquid eyeliner in your eye, it kind of spreads and gets back into your sinuses.

And I was scared









Just wanted to post in case this happened to anyone else!!!









:








s!! glad it was nothing serious.









fwiw i used to think i had intestinal worms.... until i took a Microbiology course and decided to dissect my own feces one time to check (once i knew what i was looking for!). it turned out to just be fiber and mucous (from eating stuff like shredded with with lots of dairy, which tends to make my poo mucousy).







: just know you're not alone with your freaky body worries.


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## Kimmiepie

OMGOSH!!!! Thank you!! I have had this off and on for years, out of my nose...snot or whatever. I was sure I had lung cancer and was too scared to ask the doctor. I DO wear liquid eyeliner and notice it gets in that tear duct spot often. Thank you, what a relief!!









And "they" say makeup doesn't get into your body. HA







:


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## Eli's_mommy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kimmiepie* 
OMGOSH!!!! Thank you!! I have had this off and on for years, out of my nose...snot or whatever. I was sure I had lung cancer and was too scared to ask the doctor. I DO wear liquid eyeliner and notice it gets in that tear duct spot often. Thank you, what a relief!!









And "they" say makeup doesn't get into your body. HA







:

Oh! I'm so glad I could help you!!! I just know the fears I had when I dealt with that. Try not wearing liquid liner and make sure it goes away....

I'm not doing liquid anymore. I'm all pencil baby.


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## bobica

that is sooooo weird!!!!!


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## dmusca

Oh, my God. I can't believe we found this posting. I have the same thing and could never find anything online. My doctor was looking at me like I'm crazy just this afternoon. I brought her in a sample (which hasn't been tested yet). She was throwing things out there like Tuberculosis, HIV, AIDS, Cancer. I'm currently being tested for TB, which I've had shots for in the past.
I came home crying. I'm a 39 year old wife/mother of 2 little ones. I was so scared I called my husband freaking out. He found this posting. I've USED *black liquid eyeliner* (Almay) for years and years and years and have had this problem the whole time. I can't tell you how relieved I feel.







: I thought I had a brand new disease or something.
I'm still going to get tested for everything just to be sure and tell my doctor what I've found. But, thank you so much for posting. I can at least relax now...


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## cat2116

So wierd...this has been happening to me too........and I always wear liquid eyeliner....like every day!!!


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## kitty224

excellent job finding out what this is!







I've had pretty much the same background as Eli's_mommy with the smoking and everything. I've had this for years on and off since I switched over to MAC gel eyeliner. I put it on my upper and lower eyelid. It didn't hit me until last week that it could actually be something serious but I've been too scared to look it up. I was pretty sure it was lung cancer or something bad like that. I've never met anyone else with this problem (but then again, its not like it would come up in everyday conversation.) I am so relieved right now though







:

Thanks a bunch and if anyone has any updates on this please post them.







:


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## pangle

Hi, I joined this forum just to tell you where the black phlegm is coming from. I've been dealing with this problem for over a decade and it has affected my whole body due to it being an infection ignored for so long. Anyway, here's the deal:

BLACK PHLEGM IS FROM INFECTED TEETH OR JAW

It oozes out from between your gums and teeth and then trickles down the back of your throat where it collects at the top of your lungs (you also swallow a lot of it which will eventually cause gastrointestinal difficulty). It is dissolved necrotic tissue from your jaw. The jaw gets infected from having teeth pulled (wisdom teeth) and possibly root-canals. Mainstream medicine and dentistry refuses to acknowledge this widespread problem, mostly because they've been fighting with 'alternative health' quacks. Do not fall for the alternative health quacks and their 'Cavitat' machine. Demand your dentist X-ray your jaw. Demand your dentist investigate every possible avenue of a 'pyogenic' cause of your problem. Ask for a blood culture even if they claim they can't see anything on the X-ray.


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## asdf4321

*-- Clarification: my post about the original topic of getting blackish threads in clear mucus from coughing/ blowing nose, whereas the reply just before mine sounds like a different situation.---*

I have had the same experience for a couple years-- however I have become quite sick from it. Somehow I contracted toxic mold from my old condo, I developed consistently sore throat, painful breathing, and extreme fatigue and no appetite (I lost 40 lbs in two months!)

My nurse practitioner had the 'black threads' tested and they were a form of toxic mold/fungus, so I was treated with an anti-fungal medicine. The black threads went away, and I started feeling better.

About six months later I got another really sore throat (couldn't sip water without choking/gagging). I noticed the black threads again... I started getting fatigued and didn't eat very much-- and breathing a full breath was excruciatingly painful. I walked to work one day, felt dizzy, and nearly passed out before I called my BF to pick me up, cause I didn't think I could walk the 4 blocks back home.

By the time he got to my work I had coughed up some more black threads and blood-- and I had to get a dr's note for missing the rest of my shift. So I went to an 'urgent care' clinic, where the doctor promptly told my boyfriend to get me to the ER, or he would call an ambulance.

After getting the ER, an oxygen mask was slapped on and chest x-rays were taken. I had serious pneumonia-- when word got round to the doctor/ resident dr that I had had the black threads in my lungs the resident told me about the rise of this type of infection. Many people seem to get the mold/fungus in their sinuses (esp if they are gardeners), and then it goes away-- rarely it doesn't. It stays in the lungs/sinuses, check out 'Blastomycosis' for example.

There is suspicion that this horrible fungal disease has begun affecting my lymphatic system and thyroid-- as well as my skin, joints and inner ear. Its really horrible-- and so depressing. I am always so exhausted... SOOOOO.... to the point.... if you feel sick and you get the nasty black threads in your mucus.... get it tested to find out what kind of fungus/mold it is, and use an anti-fungal to treat it.

(FYI







Sugars feed the fungus, as do steroidal medicines (like inhalers) so rinse your mouth and gargle with water to rinse after using them; and antibiotics can make fungal infections worse.

Hope this helps!!


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## kjbrown92

That is sooo bizarre. Just another reason for me not to wear makeup (besides being lazy). Skin absorbs everything. They say if you rub garlic on your feet, your breath will start smelling garlicy. I just read somewhere recently that you shouldn't put anything ON your body that you wouldn't put IN your body.


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## reirish

I have black/grey specs, sometimes threads, when I blow my nose. This has been going on for a few days now. I currently have sinusitis. I asked the e.r. doc about it but he just kind of blew me off. I do not wear liquid eyeliner, but I do wear eyeliner. I am definitely going to make a doc appt to get this checked out. It has been getting worse since I have been on my antibiotics for my sinus infection. I dont know if thats good or bad. I just wanted anyone who is reading this to know, while it MIGHT be eyeliner...it could be something else.


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## holt109

this is really crazy! i went online to find some medical reason for this, but instead i found this thread. Which is awesome, because the "eyeliner answer" is so right. i wear the liquid eyeliner for years and always had specks when blowing my nose during a cold. never put to much thought into cause i thought it was just bacteria from the cold etc. but after reading this thread my mind takes me back when a friend of mine had to have surgery on her tear ducts because they got clogged with eyeliner over time. So makeup really does seap down into your ducts into your sinuses, then if the body is doing what it's suppose to do, it'll dispose of it. But caution...be sure to clean makeup nightly and not sleep in it and when applying try not to over do it...lol thanks 4 this post!!


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## PeggyAnne

Now I'm worried. I have the same thick clear phlegm filled with black dots but I haven't used any amkeup for over 25 years. Sorry I can't edit this. d blma


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## Linz3

I can't believe I found this thread thru a google search. I've been having the same problem. I've never even smoked 1 cigarette in my life but I have been wearing almay black liquid eyeliner every day for the past 10 years. Lol...I feel so much better


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## Alenushka

4-5 years? Denial? Remember colon cancer prevention campaign "Do not die from embarrassment?" Take that to heart and see a specialist. I would start with a pulmonologist

There many possibale causes for this problem. .


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## mikel camps25

i am a smoker and have been for 10 years. i have not gone to a doctor about this, but here i noticed something odd. whenever i wake up, my lungs feel heavy and painful. i expectorate the same clear phlegm spotted with black tar-like pockets. i feel weak. i run out of breath easy. in my case, it can't be eyeliner since...well i'm a man. it's been years since i had the black spotted phlegm and just want to know what it really is.


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## Alenushka

Go see a doctor. Internet is good place to start your research but you need a professional to be diagnosed and treated.

Causes of black phlegm can be very serious. You need a doctor



*Smoking* marijuana, cigarettes, *cocaine* or other substances. It is not possible to reliably say, if someone is smoking marijuana or cigarettes on the basis of the smoker mucus color. A smoker who has quit smoking may cough up mucus (black or other colors) for several days or weeks after quitting (*4*).


*Air pollution*


*Coal* workers pneumoconiosis or anthrosilicosis (black lung disease)


*Fungal (mold) lung infection*, like allergic broncopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), causing bronciectasis (*3*)


*Old blood* (*5*) from COPD (bronchitis or emphysema), tuberculosis, cancer or other bronchial or pulmonary disorder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mikel camps25*
> 
> i am a smoker and have been for 10 years. i have not gone to a doctor about this, but here i noticed something odd. whenever i wake up, my lungs feel heavy and painful. i expectorate the same clear phlegm spotted with black tar-like pockets. i feel weak. i run out of breath easy. in my case, it can't be eyeliner since...well i'm a man. it's been years since i had the black spotted phlegm and just want to know what it really is.


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## blessedwithboys

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mikel camps25*
> 
> i am a smoker and have been for 10 years. i have not gone to a doctor about this, but here i noticed something odd. whenever i wake up, my lungs feel heavy and painful. i expectorate the same clear phlegm spotted with black tar-like pockets. i feel weak. i run out of breath easy. in my case, it can't be eyeliner since...well i'm a man. it's been years since i had the black spotted phlegm and just want to know what it really is.


You're a smoker and you can't figure out why black junk is coming out of you?!


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## Chenae Ashleigh

I suffer from the same thing.. I don't smoke, i have never smoked in my life, and i have never smoked pot or crack or anything, i'm only 16. It's only happened to me about 3 times so far, and the thing is, i DON'T wear liquid eyeliner... My step dad thinks i should see a doctor, seeing as i have never smoked or anything and i am coughing up mucus with big black streaks through it. I'm a little paranoid myself, and i don't want to think that i'm dying or anything D:


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## stacym123

there are nasty toxins in cosmetics that are unhealthy and unsafe. they seep in one way or another...

"For example, more than 1 in 5 personal care products contain chemicals linked to cancer, 80 percent contain ingredients that commonly contain hazardous impurities, and 56 percent contain penetration enhancers that help deliver ingredients deeper into the skin." -http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?list=type&type=29


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## Ella345

Is that something to be concerned about though?


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## WindyCityMom

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *PeggyAnne*
> 
> Now I'm worried. I have the same thick clear phlegm filled with black dots but I haven't used any amkeup for over 25 years. Sorry I can't edit this. d blma


When I first read this thread, I was thinking "could be mold" because I have heard of people with mold colonies living (and thriving!) in their sinus cavities. Yuck! 

I have this problem when I wear a particular brand of eyeliner- the loreal kohl PENCIL kind. It can happen with pencil as well!


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## branditopolis

I get this all the time! I was just going to suggest this, but I wanted to read through the posts first. 
When i first saw it my immediate reaction was, "DEATHHHH!" until I noticed I only got it on the days I wore makeup. lol

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Eli's_mommy*
> 
> You guys are not going to believe this.
> 
> It's liquid eyeliner. When you get liquid eyeliner in your eye, it kind of spreads and gets back into your sinuses.
> 
> And I was scared
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just wanted to post in case this happened to anyone else!!!


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## blkmucs

I am not a smoker or have any other disease that I know of and have had this problem for probably 15 years. Just starting to wonder about what it is. Noticing that the mucus encapuslating it is usually thicker than usual. I have never brought this up to a doctor but just now wondering about doing so and saw this information. I don't wear liquid eye liner but do where jell eyeliner and do put a pencil on the inside of my bottom lids at time. So this is possible. Did you ever get results from your doctor on what you had tested?


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## Scorpio123

Hai can know whAt it really is ..coz I feel the same ...can u help me ..
BY hearing this I am getting frustrated...


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## chaveb

What if you don't wear black liquid liner?? Ask a Dr. bout that one....Im hoping its just im really good at clearing things out of my system lol


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## TheV

Well Im having the same issue. I have mucus with some threads of black phlegm. I do wear eyeliner but i use pencil eyeliner. However, I always get the next morning I always get black remains in my eyes. Could my black phlegm also be caused by using black eyeliner?


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## babysmile300

I have this now it's black and gray strings and specks in clear or milky snot it only comes from my nose. Sometimes there is a little blood in my snot and it's dry. I had a sore throat before this and I have a lot of mucus in my throat. It is not hard for me to breath nor have I ever smoked weed or nicotine. I do however wear very heavy liquid black eyeliner. This has been going on for two days and it is giving me really bad anxiety. Please I need to know if I have to do to the doctor?


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## Sallynicola

[QUOTE="Eli's_mommy, post: 7369223, member: omg!!!! Honestly I am so happy to read this! So for years I’ve had the exact same thing! Some months I have absolutely nothing then others a have it several times. No other symptoms. I have always been too scared to go to the doctors. I wear liquid eyeliner and pencil quite heavily and have done for about 20 years!!!

thank you my lovely 💗 take care


You guys are not going to believe this.

It's liquid eyeliner. When you get liquid eyeliner in your eye, it kind of spreads and gets back into your sinuses.

And I was scared









Just wanted to post in case this happened to anyone else!!!
[/QUOTE]


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## TodRiddy

Hm, interesting topic


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## analuisa.rivas0117

I have been terrified for months about this happening to me. I saw an ENT yesterday and he told me it was my mascara!!! I have gotten so many tests done to figure it out! This was such a relief. He said he sees it all the time!! Stop wearing mascara he said and you will see that it will stop. So Crazy!


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