The Phlegm is a thick jelly like material coughed out from the respiratory tract and the throat. It is the immune response of the body to remove the invading organism or the foreign body. This thick mucus can be of various colors such as grey, yellow or bloody red. The mucus thus released makes respiration easier in these patients. Some of the external factors that play a part in producing phlegm are smoking tobacco, dust, smoke, chemical irritants, allergens, internal conditions include severe illnesses such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, bronchitis, pulmonary embolism, etc.

Coughing Up Bloody Phlegm
Coughing up bloody phlegm is a very frightful experience for the patient. Reassurance and finding the root cause of bloody phlegm is the best way a person should look for. Red phlegm indicates that there is some kind of bleeding in the lungs and the respiratory tract. It can also account for minor bleeding from the nose and throat due to irritation. Generally when you cough excessively, the tiny blood vessels may rupture and the blood gets mixed with the phlegm giving it a red appearance.

Causes Of Blood In Phlegm
-- Wegener Granulomatosis
-- Bronchitis
-- Pneumonia
-- Fibrosis
-- Tuberculosis
-- Lung Abscess
-- Nose bleed
-- Lung Cancer

Home Remedies For Coughing Up Phlegm
-- Prepare a concoction of basil leaves, ginger juice, and half teaspoon of black pepper powder in a cup of water. Take one teaspoon of this concoction two to three times in a day.
-- Half teaspoon of ginger juice and one teaspoon of honey mixed together is also effective when a person is coughing up bloody phlegm.
-- Mix two teaspoon of grape juice and two teaspoon of honey. Drink it three times in a day. It relieves coughing of red phlegm.
-- Drink plenty of fluids to flush out the phlegm.
-- Drink warm milk mixed with honey at least two times in a day. It soothes the dryness and irritations in your respiratory tract and throat.
-- Stop smoking as it will help to strengthen the immunity and also relive from bronchial irritation.
-- An extract prepared from the leaves of chrysanthemum parthenium has been used traditionally for treating infective respiratory diseases as the cause for bloody phlegm.  Boil five leaves in a cup of water for half an hour. After it cools, strain the content and drink two teaspoon of the extract once or twice in a day.