What does coughing up blood feel like with pneumonia?

Pneumonia can inflame the small airways and lung tissue. A cough may bring up mucus that is rusty, pink, or streaked with red, and the chest may hurt more when you breathe deeply or cough. Fever, chills, tiredness, fast breathing, or shortness of breath can occur too. These signs need clinical assessment because several illnesses can cause them.

Arrange prompt medical care for blood in phlegm, particularly with fever, worsening cough, chest pain, or breathlessness. A clinician may check your oxygen level, listen to your lungs, and arrange a chest image or other tests. Rest, drink fluids if you can, and use prescribed medicines exactly as directed. Do not use leftover antibiotics.

Seek emergency help for severe breathing difficulty, blue or grey lips, confusion, fainting, severe chest pain, or increasing amounts of blood. Sit upright while waiting and take your medicine list with you if it is readily available.

Ask whether you need a chest image, how to monitor breathing and fever, when symptoms should begin improving with treatment, and what changes require emergency review.