Resolved question:
Hi, one morning there was a streak of blood in phlegm from back of throat. Only a small amount. The previous night I had removed a large tonsil stone, tonsils are generally irritated, I remove stones almost daily, sometimes with some blood. Could it have been from this?
I am 30 and recently quit smoking, but I smoked less than 10 a day. I am worried it could be lung cancer. I have no cough and I don't feel I coughed it up, just drew it from the back of my throat. I also sometimes get thick sticky mucus (clear) that seems to run from the back of my nose down my throat, I had had this for a few days prior. It has not happened again. Lung cancer? I read the Internet and got scared
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Family Physician-GP
Hello,
Thank you for your query at DoctorSpring.com
I understand your concern.
You have already taken a positive step towards prevention of lung cancer by quitting smoking. So Congratulations for that! There are chances of lung cancer in every smoker, however at the age of 30, you're too young for lung cancer, and that does not seem likely here. If you have given up smoking completely, the effects of smoking will be reversed very soon, and you won't have to worry at all.
But you do seem to have chronic pharyngitis, hence the streak of blood. Especially with the classical post nasal drip that you have, it keeps irritating the pharyngeal mucosa, providing a continuous nidus for infection, can even manifest subclinically. However, post nasal drip ( mucus dropping from back of nose to throat ), is one of the commonest causes of chronic pharyngitis.
You need to get yourself examined by an ENT surgeon for the same, who can also guide you about the tonsillar stones. The throat secretions need to be cultured, and based on that appropriate antibiotics can be initiated.
Hope this was helpful,
Regards.