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Does Mucus Color Matter?

color mucus
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Does Mucus Color Matter?

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There’s very little that is magical about mucus, which is mostly water and salt with proteins, such as antibodies, to fight off infection mixed in. Still, people often wonder whether its color or consistency has any significance on the length or severity of their cold. “Color is most predictive of the length of symptoms,” suggested Dr. Matthew Rank, an allergist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “As the mucus becomes darker in color, it may mean that the immune system is beginning to clear the infection.” But Rank is quick to point out that when it comes to a cold, “color doesn’t matter for making a clinical diagnosis” and it doesn’t influence his treatment decisions. Ear, nose and throat specialists suggest that the normal color of mucus is clear. A cloudy or white nasal mucus may signal a cold. Large amounts of yellow or green mucus tend to be a sign of bacterial infection. Occasionally, mucus takes on a brownish hue when it’s tinged with a little blood, or possibly from the nos

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