# Snot. . .Color change an indication of recovery, or just a sick coincidence? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 14, 2001, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003 "2001-01-14T16:41:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/1 "2001-01-14T16:41:04Z")
In reference to this column: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a971017.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a971017.html) I am wondering, in the waning throes of a particularly nasty head cold, I’ve noticed that my snot/boogers/drippings/post and pre nasal drip/whatever have changed from a gooey clear slime, to a near coagulated green Jello type stuff. Is there any medical basis for this, or am I barking up a wrong tree? Please tell me I’m getting better. I’m preparing to off myself again for the day with some more NyQuill . . . Tripler If this grossed you out, I lack clarity of thought in my disease-ridden days . . . Blame it on medical science. ---
**Author:** ![cheezit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@cheezit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/2 "2001-01-14T16:55:41Z")
Well, I have always heard that **“the green snot stage”** means that the cold in on the way out. Don’t know if it has any medical basis though. Or as I heard it put once, “If there’s something to flick, you must no longer be sick”. I can only say to that, “EEEEWWWWW” If you treat a cold, it goes away in 7 days. If you don’t treat a cold, it goes away in a week. Medical science–ain’t it great? ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/3 "2001-01-14T17:05:50Z")
Green opaque snot means you’ve got a bacterial infection. Clear snot means you’ve got a virus. Often, while your body is busy kicking the cold virus, a few bacteria will set up shop in your sinuses and/or upper respiratory tract. Sometimes these bacteria go away again without too much hassle. Other times, the secondary bacterial infection is much worse than the original cold. A cold keeps me off work for a day or two. A bacterial sinus infection can keep me off for a week. ---
**Author:** ![Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/49beb7/32.png) [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/4 "2001-01-14T18:25:16Z")
Tansu, don’t SAY that. _groans_ Then again, I’ve switched from clear to not clear to clear to not clear about 5 times the past week, so what the hell do I know. _goes hunting for the damn Tylenol Cold box…_ (And I’m REALLY sorry I got you sick, Trip!) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/5 "2001-01-14T18:53:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Falcon \* > \*\*(And I’m REALLY sorry I got you sick, Trip!) 🙂 \*\* Strange, but I don’t think you did. . . It’s going around up here like wildfire. The cold that is, not the snot. . . Tripler Oh look, I made an MTV logo! Wanna see? ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/6 "2001-01-14T22:18:53Z")
Sorry folks, but I’m with Tansu. My family has nose/ear problems and snot is something I’m unhappily familiar with. Clear, or white/yellow snot is basically not medically treatable. Virus or allergy usually. But green is a sign of bacterial infection which CAN be treated with antibiotics. But don’t rush off to your doctor. It’s also true that this can clear itself up in a few days, saving you the expense and time of dosing yourself for 10 days when you could have been healed in 5. I let it go unless I get a fever or relentless chest cough. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/7 "2001-01-14T23:49:05Z")
Well, my snot is green and globby, so I take that as a good sign. And if a bacterial thing usually follows a cold, but clears up on its own, even better. So, I take this as an indication that I’m getting better. Tripler Piles of kleenex. I mean _everywhere_ . . . ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/8 "2001-01-15T05:34:53Z")
I have had various sinus problems for most of my life. Surgery (hello, polyps!) and steroid maintenance have helped immensely. Anyway, I am the King of Snot. I’ve had snot that was so runny and clear, it would leak out of my nose like a faucet if I bent over. Sometimes this type is tinged with yellow, which makes for interesting hanky (daytime) or pillow (nighttime) stains. I’ve had pink snot (blood). I’ve had snot with vile yellow chunks, both hard and soft. This and the following types are straight from the sinus cavities–no wimpy nasal discharge here. Green snot, thick and the consistency of tofu. _Rancid_ tofu. Sometimes this requires a lot of effort to bring up (the prednisone helps loosen it out of its entrenched position, too, I think.) Sometimes the greenish chunks are more blackish. The best comparison I can think of is rubber cement. Boy, it feels _good_ to get some of that out of there! I realize I haven’t done anything to answer the OP; but I couldn’t let a snot thread go by without asserting my superiority. 😉 Seriously, though, surgery changed my life. My sinus problems are few and far between compared to before. I went far too long with totally impacted sinuses and the inability to pass air through my nasal passages. I can breathe! I can breathe! ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/9 "2001-01-15T05:43:43Z")
I was recently sick, not sure what with, but I got a fever of over 104 off of it. It went through several stages. First, a frequent non-productive cough. VERY annoying, I was coughing so much my stomach got sore, and it didn’t ‘catch’ on anything. A few days later, the cough started bring up stuff. This was an improvement. First it was a clear mucus, later milky and finally yellowish-green. A couple of days after that, my nose started running - clear and watery. After that, the snot turned green. I knew then I was about over it. Sure enough, the cough cleared up soon after and I stopped having the fevers. My wife, though initially upset about me giving it to her, ended up being thankful - when she started running a high fever because of the flu or whatever it was, she went to the ER, and they found out she had a pelvic inflamatory infection, the symptoms of which she had assumed indicated a yeast infection. By finding out about it early, she reduced the chance of scarring that could have caused infertility. If I hadn’t given her the flu, she probably would have just picked up some monistat and never went to the doctor. ---
**Author:** ![avacado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@avacado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/avacado)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/10 "2001-01-15T08:54:58Z")
So, what about brown snot? When I’m getting a sore throat or moderate sinus infection, thick brown snot always finds its way up my throat. ---
**Author:** ![pennys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/958977/32.png) [@pennys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pennys)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/11 "2001-01-15T09:58:42Z")
Not wanting to be too serious here, but the clear stuff is a result of viral infestion of the lining cells of the upper respiratory tract. The snot becomes cloudy when it fills with cell debris which is mostly the result of body defense inflammatory cells attacking cells infected by virus. This is why it is associated with improving, it means that the immune response is working. It does not necessarily mean that bacterial infection is present. I must say that part of the reason I chose gynaecology is because vaginal discharges never bother me but those specimen cups of cold sputum they make you examine as a medical student could really make me nauseated! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/12 "2001-01-15T10:18:17Z")
divemaster: I know that snot. I’ve had experiences with the thick yellow chunks that you could use to make plaster casts of the sinuses. I have a couple of sinus polyps, but the ENT specialist I saw 10 years ago said it probably wouldn’t be worth it to take them out. What was your polypectomy like? Also, the surface area of my enormous sinuses is about 1.5 times normal anyway, so I can produce shed loads of snot. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/13 "2001-01-15T15:04:11Z")
So, how does my doctor know whether I have just a bad cold or bronchitis just by looking at the discharge? Isn’t bronchitis just a cold that has gone deeper into the lungs? And Falcon, me and my children want to thank you for bringing us closer together in this time of snot and aching chests. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/14 "2001-01-15T15:14:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pennys \* > \*\*I must say that part of the reason I chose gynaecology \*\* gynaecology??? Is this the British spelling? ---
**Author:** ![Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/49beb7/32.png) [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/15 "2001-01-15T17:21:16Z")
Biggirl - I’ve already said elsewhere that only TRIP can blame me for getting sick. The rest of you are NOT MY FAULT! Honest! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/16 "2001-01-15T17:26:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by divemaster \* > \*\*I have had various sinus problems for most of my life. Surgery (hello, polyps!) and steroid maintenance have helped immensely. Anyway, I am the King of Snot. > > I’ve had snot that was so runny and clear, it would leak out of my nose like a faucet if I bent over. Sometimes this type is tinged with yellow, which makes for interesting hanky (daytime) or pillow (nighttime) stains. > > I’ve had pink snot (blood). > > I’ve had snot with vile yellow chunks, both hard and soft. This and the following types are straight from the sinus cavities–no wimpy nasal discharge here. > > Green snot, thick and the consistency of tofu. _Rancid_ tofu. Sometimes this requires a lot of effort to bring up (the prednisone helps loosen it out of its entrenched position, too, I think.) > > Sometimes the greenish chunks are more blackish. The best comparison I can think of is rubber cement. Boy, it feels _good_ to get some of that out of there! > > I realize I haven’t done anything to answer the OP; but I couldn’t let a snot thread go by without asserting my superiority. ;)\*\* Been there, done all that (except maybe **black**. Brown, maybe). I can usually sit out a sinus infection (having had lots of practice); it’s when it moves into my chest that I really hate it. Lord protect me from bronchitis and that hacking cough that prevented me from getting any sleep for a week (codeine is a _good_ thing…). I think the OP’s been answered several times over, but snot is a subject close to my own heart as well (not literally, of course)… ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/17 "2001-01-15T18:35:35Z")
If you don’t get enough fluids, your snot gets thick. Drink more fluids. If your pee is also a deep yellow, drink more fluids. Fluids fluids fluids as they say. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/18 "2001-01-15T20:43:30Z")
I had absolutely no idea a thread about snot would be this long. But I did learn stuff! Tripler It’s still green. Thick and green. ---
**Author:** ![MercyMe312](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@MercyMe312](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyMe312)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/19 "2013-05-11T19:25:34Z")
> [@Tansu](#): > > Green opaque snot means you’ve got a bacterial infection. Clear snot means you’ve got a virus. Often, while your body is busy kicking the cold virus, a few bacteria will set up shop in your sinuses and/or upper respiratory tract. Sometimes these bacteria go away again without too much hassle. Other times, the secondary bacterial infection is much worse than the original cold. A cold keeps me off work for a day or two. A bacterial sinus infection can keep me off for a week. You are wrong! Green DOES NOT mean you have a bacterial infection. Clear, watery nasal discharge [ahem, snot] can herald the start of a cold. As the body begins to combat the illness, white blood cells rush to defend the injured tissues. This immune response turns the clear secretions cloudy and colors them green and yellow. It’s the natural progression of the illness, and the colors indicate only that the body is mounting an immune response. ---
**Author:** ![MercyMe312](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@MercyMe312](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyMe312)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003/20 "2013-05-11T19:29:44Z")
You are wrong, green DOES NOT mean you have a bacterial infection! Clear, watery nasal discharge [ahem, snot] can herald the start of a cold. As the body begins to combat the illness, white blood cells rush to defend the injured tissues. This immune response turns the clear secretions cloudy and colors them green and yellow. It’s the natural progression of the illness, and the colors indicate only that the body is mounting an immune response. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snot-color-change-an-indication-of-recovery-or-just-a-sick-coincidence/50003.md?page=2)