every year around this time...

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I get this wicked thick, sticky, almost solid phlegm that I hock up and when I spit it out, it's streaked or spotted with blood.

I swear it's like one giant juicy booger. Sorry, I can't lend you my brain scrubber.

Anyway, I talked to my doc about it last time and he said it was nothing to worry about, just so long as my phlegm wasn't green or dark yellow or some odd color like that. Eeeh, it was yellow-ish I suppose but not goldenrod by any means.

Just want to know what y'all think.

ok the phlegm is coming from your lungs probably. if you doc says it's fine and you had for a lifetime than you should not worry too much. were you born as a premature baby? premature babies have undeveloped lungs and the capillaries and so on. you should say more - do you smoke? do you have any lung conditions? do you have a bleeding disorder? again if you had it all your life and it is not getting worse and your doc says your are fine than i would not worry about it. also thick phlegm might mean that you are dehydrated, do you have CF by the way? has the doc prescribed you a nebulizer treatment or anything of the sort? allergies? see it's very hard to give any advice when there is so little info.

I smoke, no bleeding disorders, seasonal (spring, fall) allergies. TMK, I was born on time. When I hock, I feel the need to do so because the back of my upper palette or the back of my nasal canal feels sensitive like something's there that needs getting rid of.

i think you should post a picture of the bloody phlegm lol that would be really cool and gross a lot of people on here out

so how long have you had this? all your life?

NO, NO, please dont post a pic of your phlegm, I have alread trashed enough keyboards from vomiting on them, lol

Since you say it is always around this time of year, the most common cause would be nose bleed from dry air, from the heating system in your house. That is if you live in a cold winter area?
Your nose doesnt have to be gushing blood for it to bleed, it could be minor amounts, draining, and being swalowed. If you have the heat on, chances are you need a humidifier!
If you are spiting up phlegm all the time then, the phlegm is from smoking!! ! I am sure of that.
If this only happens a certain time of the year, every year, then it is most likely the humidy thing.
If this happens all the time, year round with the blood, then I would look at getting a chest x-ray. A chest x-ray will show any damaged parts of the lung. If this happens all the time and the chest x-ray is clear then it is time to talk to a specialist!
BTW, I am not a expert, just had many lung/asthma/nosebleed issues in the past.

I haven't had a nosebleed since I was a little kid.

and I live in Maine - we're buried under three feet of snow.

Like I said, it is most likely lack of humidity then from dry air, from your heating system. The heating sucks all the humidity out of the air
Like I also said, you could have a small nosebleed from lack of humidity and never know it, because the blood is draining into your throut. It would be covering your phlegm, and iritating, causing you to cough it up, and see bloody phlegm.

ROADRACER IS SMART. smokers always have a smoker's cough and they always have a lot of phlegm to spit out. this is because the phlegm is moved up your lungs by little legs that line your throat - they are called cilia. so these legs move the phlegm, up, up, and the phlegm clears. when you smoke, the smoke particles clog up the little legs so they can not do their job. the little legs are covered in cigarrette smudge and that's why you got so much phlegm up there. it's totally normal for people who smoke.

the key question is - Have you had this blood streaked phlegm all your life? in other words if it's new - it's bad. if it's been going on for many years and does get worth it's probably fine.

Greenish or yellow phlegm means that you have either sinusitis or a strep infection. I have had both, the last time being last week. Sometimes the infection will not be in your sinus cavities, but will instead be in the back of your throat, which will also cause bloody phlegm. If you have just recovered from a cold or the flu, you will sometimes wind up with a secondary infection, which will seem like a prolonged cold. --If the infection occurs in your lungs, you get pneumonia.

In Feb. '88, I came down with a severe flu which allowed a strep infection to take hold , and I wound up with pneumonia which was NOT fun at all.

Actually, this isn't the heating system so much as the fact that sufficently cold weather is dry weather due to moisture sublimation,IE it's sufficiently cold enough for the moisture to freeze, and precipitate out of the air in the form of snow. When it's too cold to snow, you are left with very dry air, which is more conducive to the generation of static electricity, as well as sounds being sharper and clearer, as there is no moisture to dampen the effects of sound. --Using a humidifier could possibly rectify some of the issues.

Yeah, your right, but it is also the heating system, my dad being a plumber I know heating dries out the air even more, especially forced hot air heating. Even that the humidity is low outside because of winter, it is usually even worse when the heat is on. Like you said, humidifier would solve that if it was the problem. Depending on the heating system a humidifier for the whole house would be the best solution.

Anyway, about what is going on, we could all be wrong, it could be a number of differnt things. Like I have said in other threads, no one here can say for sure.

It could be your heating system - make sure your filters are clean, and you may even want to have your ductwork professionally cleaned. It's not terribly unusual for ductwork to be filthy, even if your maintenence on the filters is perfect. And yes, the drier air, combined with spending more time indoors, can irritate your mucous membranes to the point where they seep blood. try getting a humidifier, putting a pot of water on the stove at a very low boil, or even running a super hot shower while you sit in the bathroom (sauna!)

goat