Why do cough produce phlegm not associated with COVID-19?

Hi oemBiology, I'm not sure I understand your question.

Here's a quote taken from a doctor, who associates phlegm with COVID:

“Having a runny nose is not expected with COVID-19 infection. Having muscle aches and pains is much more common with influenza. Having a productive cough, coughing up phlegm, can occur with COVID-19 infections, particularly late on, but it’s not typical with what the early course is”

 
Based on above description, I would like to know on why coughing up phlegm (including running nose) is not related to COVID-19 in the early course. In the other words, dry cough is more related to COVID-19 in the early course. What make different within lung on handling COVID-19?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions (^v^)

I believe it's because COVID affects the lower part of the lungs, so you don't see phlegm manifest until later.

I would like to know on what COVID is actually done within lung, is COVID virus or bacteria?

1) What is phlegm?
2) what cause body produce phlegm?
3) is phlegm a waste generating through defending process between immune system and COVID?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions (^v^)

It is a virus.


Phlegm is a type of mucus made in your chest in response to an infection. It consists of viruses, bacteria, other debris, and shed-off inflammatory cells within the lungs.

Viruses activate immune cells in the lungs that release histamines and other substances that cause inflammation in localized tissue. That tissue in turn produces the phlegm.

For virus, could higher body temperature kill / reduce virus? such as taking a sauna.

Instead of taking oxygen, is there any approach to remove those mucus in chest in response to an infection? such as improving blood circulation.

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions (^v^)

You have to be very careful stepping into a sauna during an infection because your body already produces a lot of heat from the inflammatory response to defeat the pathogen that's causing the infection. A sauna in theory would kill a virus, but it would prevent your body from dissipating the heat it is producing already, leading to death presumably via heat stroke.

Furthermore, we're warm blooded species, so external heat has little impact on our internal body temperature. This is why walking outside in freezing cold temperatures  doesn't impact the core temperatures within our bodies.

Our body automatically tries to remove the phlegm by coughing. There's no need for oxygen unless in case like pneumonia where the lungs are damaged.

Taking a sauna would increase blood circulation and oxygen levels, would it indirectly reduce inflammation? Since mucus is made in response to an infection, in the early stage without serious inflammation, would sauna (increasing blood circulation within lung) be a good approach to reduce any potential inflammation on next stage?

Furthermore, would inflammation be the main cause on damaging lung tissue?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions (^v^)


https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2017.00324/full

Inflammation and environmental oxygen levels are linked; inflammation is often accompanied by hypoxia, and hypoxia itself can cause inflammation (7). In patients, many different inflamed tissues have been shown to have lower than normal oxygen levels. In the GI tract, mice with experimental models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have increased inflammation and decreased oxygen levels in their colonic tissues (8), which corresponds with pathology observed in IBD patients (9). Examining the role of hypoxia in modulating epithelial cell and immune cell responses has been an area of active investigation in the design of new therapeutics for treating IBD (10).

Saunas increase blood circulation to the peripheries, exterior parts of the body by causing vasodilation to prepare the body for sweating.


Mucus is made everywhere and at all times -- it's not induced by infection.


Yes, prolonged inflammation isn't good under any circumstance, whether it be in the lungs, joints, or infection.

I would like to know on what problem is for prolonged inflammation.
Would increasing blood circulation help to raise oxygen and reduce inflammation?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions (^v^)

Repeated infection prolongs inflammation.

Auto immune diseases like arthritis cause inflammation in the joints.

Essentially, whenever the immune system gets involved you have inflammation happening. Usually, once the cause of the injury is removed, the inflammation subsides when healing of the injured area is complete. It can happen on its own, or with the use of medication, such as NSAIDs.


I've never come across the idea of oxygen reducing inflammation. According to the article linked below:


Therefore, lower levels of oxygen are probably better.

Source 

https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/news/2018/reduced-oxygen-inhibits-inflammation

When immune system is not strong, false signals are easily triggered to cause inflammation by allergen, such as skin (easily crack) or throat (get inflammation) for a long period of time.

Referring to statement, it seems that Inflammation and environmental oxygen levels are related, but low oxygen levels also inhibit the immune response from your given statements,

1) False signal from immune response cause prolonged inflammation
2) Lower oxygen levels can inhibit the immune response, but it causes more inflammation due to hypoxia
3) so lower oxygen levels is not the best approach to reduce inflammation

Is there any better approach on handling false signal from immune response? a lot of people born with not strong immune system (too sensitive with allergen)

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions (^v^)

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2017.00324/full

Inflammation and environmental oxygen levels are linked; inflammation is often accompanied by hypoxia, and hypoxia itself can cause inflammation (7). In patients, many different inflamed tissues have been shown to have lower than normal oxygen levels. In the GI tract, mice with experimental models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have increased inflammation and decreased oxygen levels in their colonic tissues (8), which corresponds with pathology observed in IBD patients (9). Examining the role of hypoxia in modulating epithelial cell and immune cell responses has been an area of active investigation in the design of new therapeutics for treating IBD (10).

I think those with allergies, autoimmune diseases, and other hypersensitivity disorders shouldn't be classified as having a 'weak' immune system. In fact, there's no such thing as a 'weak' immune system, because one's immune response is dynamic. Meaning that how well a person fights-off an illness also depends on what they've been exposed to over a lifetime. For example, if person X is vaccinated over pathogen Y, that person is less likely to get infected by the pathogen compared to a second person who hasn't been vaccinated.

Furthermore, the idea of inflammation leading to hypoxia makes sense. Inflammation can lead to scar tissue, and scar tissue is made up of damaged cells. Damaged cells are less likely to take up oxygen than healthy cells. As mention in this study, dynamic hypoxia occurs in scar tissue, with mild hypoxia in the early scars and moderate hypoxia in the proliferative scars. Severe hypoxia then occurs in regressive scars, before oxygenation returns to almost normal levels in the mature scar stage.