{"id":16001,"date":"2022-06-15T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T20:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=16001"},"modified":"2025-03-25T12:08:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T17:08:02","slug":"what-the-color-of-your-snot-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/what-the-color-of-your-snot-means\/","title":{"rendered":"What the color of your snot means"},"content":{"rendered":"

Snot can come in nearly all shades of the rainbow. And each color of snot \u2013 also called mucus or boogers \u2013 tells you something different about what\u2019s going on inside your body.<\/p>\n

\u201cDifferent colors of mucus can help tell you something, but they don\u2019t always mean as much as a lot of people think,\u201d said Alyssa Smolen, an advanced practice registered nurse<\/a> at OSF HealthCare.<\/p>\n

The scoop on mucus<\/h2>\n

Mucus is one of the body\u2019s natural systems of protection. It does things like lubricate the esophagus to make it easier for food to slide down to the stomach, and it coats the lining of the stomach to protect from naturally occurring acid.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>


Download<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Our sinus, head and neck regions are naturally very moist environments, which means that these areas are commonly gathering places for mucus<\/a> when our bodies are trying to send us a message.<\/p>\n

Clear<\/h2>\n

\u201cNormally, mucus is clear. When you have a cold or infection, it might turn green or yellow,\u201d said Alyssa.<\/p>\n

Clear snot usually signals allergies<\/a> or some kind of environmental factor that is triggering your nose to start running, such as inhaling dust or allergens. Clear snot is nothing to worry about. If it\u2019s an inconvenience, an over-the-counter medicine can help relieve the runniness.<\/p>\n

Yellow<\/h2>\n

When you blow your nose and see yellow boogers, that usually means your body is fighting an infection. The yellow coloring comes from white blood cells that have rushed to the area to fight off the infection.<\/p>\n

Green<\/h2>\n
\n

Feeling phlegmy?<\/p>\n

Get care now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Green mucus means that the infection is a bit stronger. The green coloring means that lots of white blood cells have been working overtime to fight the infection. The infection will eventually go away, but if your snot is still showing up green after 10-12 days, talk to your health care provider.<\/p>\n

While yellow and green are the most common colors we usually see when we have allergies or are fighting an infection like a cold, we may occasionally run into some other colors.<\/p>\n

Red or pink<\/h2>\n

Red or pink snot means blood, but don\u2019t be alarmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlood in your mucus is most often caused by irritation of the nasal tissues. This often occurs with viral infections or allergies due to frequent nose blowing or use of nasal sprays that may cause the tissues to become dry,\u201d Alyssa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as it\u2019s a relatively small amount of blood mixed with mucus, it\u2019s not something to fret over. If bleeding is continuous and does not stop with pressure, you should be evaluated by a health care provider.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown<\/h2>\n

Similarly, brown snot is likely a sign that you had a cut in your nasal passage at some point that has since healed. Dried blood usually shows up brown, so your mucus is probably just mixed with old blood.<\/p>\n

Black<\/h2>\n

Black snot can mean a few different things. People who smoke will sometimes notice black snot because of the chemicals they inhale while smoking.<\/p>\n

Black snot can also appear if you\u2019ve been working in an environment with dust or dirt. In that case, your body is just doing its job to get rid of whatever irritants made their way into your nose, and the mucus will clear out the dust, soot or dirt naturally. However, black snot can also mean a serious fungal infection<\/a>. If the black snot doesn\u2019t go away, talk to your health care provider right away to get to the bottom of it.<\/p>\n

So, when your nose starts running<\/a>, be prepared to see just about any color of the rainbow! And now you know what, if anything, you need to do about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mucus is one of the body’s natural systems of protection and its coloring can give you an idea of what’s going on inside your body. Mucus is typically clear, but what does it mean if it’s yellow, green, or even pink? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":16017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[86,87,602,326],"coauthors":[1051],"class_list":["post-16001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous","tag-allergies","tag-cold","tag-primary-care","tag-sinus-infection"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat the color of your snot means<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yellow, green, or pink - mucus comes in a variety of colors and is a good indicator of what's going on inside your body.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/what-the-color-of-your-snot-means\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What the color of your snot means\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yellow, green, or pink - 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