Dissecting the Color of Your Snot

We all get sick at one point and whenever we’re blowing our nose, we tend to check out its color believing that it can indicate how sick we are or how close we are to recovering. The snot can be of different colors, from white, to green, to even yellow, as the body continues on fighting infection.

While doctors say that green mucous is an indication of bacterial infection which can be treated with antibiotics, green snot actually means that the immune system is fighting off an invader for days. The color is produced from the protein found in white blood cells.

Below is a short summary of the meaning of different snot colors so you’ll have an idea of what your body is up against.

Clear

There’s no need to worry if the mucus you just expelled is clear because it’s just mainly composed of water, antibodies, dissolved salt, and proteins, which the nasal tissues normally produce. Clear mucous usually just flows down to your throat and dissolved in the stomach.

White

White mucous is an indication of congestion and can be usually seen when fighting off the common cold and nasal infection. The tissues inside the nose are inflamed and swollen, which slows down mucous flow. When this happens, the mucous usually loses moisture, giving it a cloudy and thick consistency.

Yellow

Yellow snot is a warning sign that there is a progression in the infection that your body is trying to fight off. White blood cells and other cells responsible of warding off infection are rushing to the microbial infection site where after doing their jobs, are carried off to the mucosal tide and the ochre tinge. Don’t be surprised if your cold is already a week old, because this type of infection usually lasts from ten to fourteen days, depending on what you do to help treat it.

Green

Green means that the body is doing everything it can to fight back. When blowing green mucus, it means that it’s already thick with dead white blood cells which have exhausted all means to fight back infection. If the infection or cold won’t go away in two weeks, you may want to consider seeing the doctor, especially if it goes together with nausea and fever.

Red or Pink

Reddish or pinkish mucous could indicate broken nasal tissues. It may be caused by dried or irritated nose tissues due to lack of moisture.

Brown

Brown mucous is sometimes mistaken for blood, but it’s more likely that you inhaled snuff, dirt, or even paprika, for some reason.

Black

Black snot can be alarming; especially if you’re not a user of prohibited or illegal drugs or a smoker, as it could mean a fungal infection that your body is having a hard time fighting off. It could also be an indication that your immune system is already compromised and cannot fully accomplish its task of protecting the body. Go see your doctor immediately if you blow off black mucous.

Did you know?

That our body produces much mucous that our body swallows 1.5 quarts on a daily basis.
Doctors rarely diagnose a disease based on the color of our nasal mucous.
Wegener’s granulomatosis, one of the rarest known diseases, has a symptom which includes constant runny nose and nosebleeds that are accompanied with pus-filled discharge.