Your nasal mucus and what it can tell you…

Posted on 28 May 2015

Nasal mucus is never a pleasant topic, but checking the colour and consistency of it can provide valuable clues about your state of health, says Dr Werner de Vos, a GP from Mediclinic Louis Leipoldt.

Nasal mucus is basically water with proteins, salts and other antibodies mixed up within it. And, as many of us have experienced during bouts of flu or colds, the body produces huge amounts of this mucus to help get what’s making us sick out of our system by trapping it before it reaches the lungs. We blow this goo out into tissues or handkerchiefs, but very few of us actually have a look at what we’ve produced.

But why would having a quick peek at the contents of our tissue be a good idea? Well, depending on how sick we are – or how much contaminant the mucus has trapped – your nasal mucus will change colour and consistency, and knowing what these changes signify can be a great guide to your overall health.

The Cleveland Clinic in the US shared their great definitive guide on the colours of mucus and what they mean.

IF YOUR MUCUS IS…
• CLEAR Water-like, crystal clear mucus is produced 24/7 and is the best indicator that you’re 100% healthy. You swallow about 1,4 litres of mucus every day.
• WHITE/MILKY Thick white mucus indicates that your sinuses are congested. Your nose is probably a bit blocked and you’re generally feeling fine, but you may have a mild infection or cold coming on.
• YELLOW Mucus with a yellow hue indicates that your infection has progressed and your white blood cells – the infection fighters – are at war with cold germs. It will take 10 to 14 days to get over a cold.
• GREEN This means you’ve acquired a bacterial infection and your immune system is fighting it off – hard! It could be sinusitis, but if you’ve been sick for longer than 12 days and have a temperature/fever or feel nauseous, now’s the time to see the doctor. Don’t wait!
• RED/PINK There’s blood present. If it’s can’t be linked to an obvious cause such as a nosebleed or a bump to the nasal area, red nasal mucus indicates that there’s probably broken tissue somewhere in the nose or sinuses.
• BROWN/BEIGE This muddy tinge could be caused by blood but it’s more likely that you’ve inhaled some other airborne contaminant like dust, snuff (if your partake), or even pollen.
• BLACK If you’re not a smoker or illegal drug user, black mucus tells you that you have a serious fungal infection. If you haven’t already made that doctor’s appointment, do it now.

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.