What does yellow and green snot mean

What Does Your Snot Color Mean?

What is Excessive Snot?

Snot, also known as mucus, is the normal secretion of mucous membranes that line your nose and sinuses.2 We may not be aware of it, but our bodies produce a lot of mucus. The exact amount that your body makes is unknown, but experts believe that it’s close to one liter a day.2 Your body produces so much mucus because it plays an important role in staying healthy. Its slippery consistency helps protect and moisturize your nasal passages.2 Mucus also traps potential irritants like bacteria, viruses, dirt and dust before they enter your body through your nose.1,2 However, your body can overproduce mucus when you have a cold, have irritated sinuses (or sinusitis), have allergies or are exposed to irritants like smoke or pollution.2 Your body makes more mucus to get any germs or irritants out of your body and will change your snot’s color based on what illness or condition you’re dealing with.2

What Does Your Snot Color Mean?

A change of color in your snot may be a little gross, but it’s your body’s way of telling you that something is up. The color of your snot isn’t the primary way to diagnose your sickness, but it is a good way to give you a better sense of what’s going on with your body.4 The next time you reach for a tissue, check to see what comes out so you can see what your body is trying to tell you about your condition.

Clear

Your snot should be clear most of the time. Straight mucus appears clear because it is mostly water, proteins, antibodies and dissolved salts.4 Clear mucus is constantly produced by your nasal tissues, and most of it flows down to the back of your throat and is dissolved in the stomach.4 If your body is overproducing clear mucus, it may be a sign of allergies.1 In this case, your body is trying to push out any dust, pollen or other irritating particles to keep them out of your lungs and minimize coughing.1,3

White

After a few days of fighting off a virus, your mucus may start to appear white.1 White mucus is a sign of congestion from a nasal infection or a cold.4 Inflamed tissues in your nose cause the flow of mucus to slow down and lose moisture, which makes it look thick and cloudy in color.4

Yellow

Yellow is one of the more distinct snot colors you may see after blowing your nose. As drastic of a color change it may be, yellow mucus just means that your cold or infection is progressing and infection-fighting cells are on their way to the cause of the infection.4 The yellow-ish tinge comes from the combination of white blood cells and the flow of mucus.4

Green

If your mucus appears green, that means that your immune system is fighting the infection extra hard.4 Your white blood cells produce enzymes to help fight off an infection or irritant.5 These enzymes contain iron, which gives your mucus a green color.5 Your mucus may appear more green when you blow your nose for the first time after waking up because it becomes more concentrated after sitting around for a long period of time.5

Pink, Red or Brown

If your mucus looks either pink, red or brown, it is most likely blood.4 Blood can appear in your mucus if your nasal tissue breaks from dryness or irritation.4 Brown mucus can also occur if you accidentally inhaled something brown like dirt.4

Black

Black mucus can be the result of inhaling smoke or dust. In more serious cases, it can be an indication of a fungal infection.1,4 Talk to your doctor if you produce black mucus and do not know what may have caused it.4

Managing Your Snot

Your snot color can tell you a lot about what’s going on with your body, but that doesn’t make it any easier to tolerate. Constant runny nose and nasal congestion is enough of a sign that something is going on with your nasal tissues. Find relief from nasal congestion and other irritating cold and flu symptoms with Robitussin Maximum Strength Severe Multi-Symptom Cough Cold + Flu. Each dose of this formula contains 10 mg of phenylephrine HCl that helps relieve nasal congestion to help you breathe easier while you recover from a cold or the flu. You can also get Children’s Robitussin Cough & Cold CF to provide your child with relief from a stuffy nose and mucus.

If you notice a change in your snot color along with other cold or flu symptoms, talk to your doctor about treatment options so you can get back to feeling better soon. Learn about sick etiquette and find helpful health advice from the Robitussin Cough and Cold Center. 

One of the first responders to microbial invaders is a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil. Neutrophils are full of myeloperoxidase2, an enzyme that contains green-colored heme, or iron. When super concentrated, these green neutrophils can make your mucus appear straight-up verdant. But when less concentrated, the mucus appears pale green—which, depending on how your eyes work, might look yellow to you instead.

You may also notice that your mucus is a deeper shade of yellow (or looks like it has gone from yellow to green) after several days of being sick, not blowing your nose for a while, or when you wake up in the morning. When mucus sits around in your nasal passages for prolonged periods, these inflammatory cells can build up and tint your mucus more intensely, Dr. Benninger explains. “The less you clear it out, the more it becomes discolored,” he says. So, when you’ve got yellow mucus, you should blow your nose often to clear out any trapped debris and keep things moving.

To get a bit more granular, we rounded up the most common (and specific) questions about yellow mucus so you can find the exact answers you need:

Is yellow mucus bacterial or viral?

This is a toughie, Dr. McCormick says. “It is difficult to rely on the color of mucus to determine viral versus bacterial infection,” he explains. “While most people think that discolored mucus is always associated with bacterial infections, this is not always the case. Some people with viral infections may have yellow mucus.” 

Is yellow mucus a symptom of COVID-19?

COVID-19 hasn’t been around for too long (even though it feels like it), so this hasn’t been studied extensively yet. Neil Bhattacharyya, M.D., a comprehensive ear, nose, and throat specialist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston, tells SELF that yellow mucus “could be” a COVID-19 symptom “but it’s relatively rare.” Anecdotally, he points out that he generally hasn’t seen yellow mucus in many patients who have tested positive for the virus. In fact, “their mucus has been pretty clear,” he says. 

Basically, it’s possible to have yellow mucus with COVID-19 but far from a guarantee. “Patients with COVID-19 might develop excessive or discolored mucus; however, not all patients diagnosed with COVID-19 will have these symptoms.” 

Is yellow mucus a symptom of a sinus infection?

Yellow mucus may be a sign of a sinus infection, but you would likely also have other symptoms, Dr. McCormick says. This includes a signature pain or pressure in your face, a headache, a runny or stuffy nose, postnasal drip (when mucus runs down your throat), a sore throat or cough, and even bad breath that can’t be explained by your fragrant dinner, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Does yellow mucus ever mean you are getting better after being sick?

“Generally not,” Dr. Bhattacharyya says. “If you have yellow mucus, it means you still have white blood cells that are fighting whatever is actively causing inflammation or infection.”

What do other mucus colors mean?

Your mucus can give you a total cornucopia of colors, with shades that go way beyond yellow. Here’s a breakdown of what specific shades of snot might allude to:

Does yellow green snot mean contagious?

Does green yellow snot mean sinus infection?

How do you get rid of green yellow snot?

Do you need antibiotics if your mucus is green?