Oily Cough: What It Is, Possible Causes and Associated Symptoms

, on the other hand, absent in the dry or non-productive variant.

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However unpleasant and annoying it may be, a fat cough is a very important defense and protection tool for the respiratory tract; inside the phlegm expelled with a fat cough there are in fact hundreds of very small microorganisms which, if kept inside the airways, could aggravate or even worse encourage the infection.

The fat cough is due to the obstruction of the bronchi by accumulations of more or less consistent mucus.

and coughs often walk hand in hand: not surprisingly, most infections affecting the airways manifest themselves with more or less frequent attacks of cough.More precisely, the cough pattern during influenza illness is not constant: if colds and flu typically begin with a dry cough, in the more advanced stages the productive cough could take over.

The appearance of a fat cough is generally interpreted as a complication of the primary respiratory disease, synonymous with an ongoing (often bacterial) infection.

In most cases, the fat cough dependent on similar respiratory diseases tends to regress by itself within a few days, without necessarily resorting to the aid of mucolytic or expectorant drugs.

Only in case of need, the doctor can prescribe cough medicines or other therapeutic aids to relieve symptoms and speed up recovery.

, sore throat, headache and general malaise.

• Bronchitis;
• Complications of the flu.

Oily cough accompanied by a sputum with blood (hemoptysis).

• Whooping cough: the emission of a mucous, bloody and stringy sputum is anticipated by a series of violent dry coughs.
• Tuberculosis: the expulsion of bloody phlegm from the mouth is anticipated - also in this case - by numerous coughs and acute chest pains.
• Infection with intestinal worms (eg Ascaris lumbricoides).
• Malignant asbestosis (complication of a disease caused by frequent exposure to asbestos).
• Aspergillosis.
• Lung abscess.

Fat cough, sometimes bloody, accompanied by high fever, chills, difficulty breathing, pain in the chest, profuse sweating.

• Bacterial (pneumococcal) pneumonia.

Oily cough accompanied by emphysema, evident lung damage, fibrosis, dyspnoea, fatigue, weight loss.

• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (or extrinsic allergic alveolitis): this is a severe hypersensitivity reaction of the lung due to repeated inhalation of organic dust (eg hay, animal excrement, etc.).

Oily cough accompanied by a sputum with a fetid smell.

• Pulmonary gangrene.

Foamy, pink and serous sputum.

• Pulmonary edema.

The consistency and appearance of the phlegm emitted during a fat cough is comparable to currant jelly.

• Bronchopulmonary cancer.
• Pneumonia from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

A fat cough is accompanied by a blackish or very dark sputum.

• Anthracosis, rare occupational disease linked to frequent and prolonged inhalation of coal dust.

Some diseases or ailments can begin indifferently with a dry cough or a fat cough: in these cases, the careful and expert eye of a doctor is essential to trace the triggering cause through the meticulous evaluation of the "accompanying" symptoms.

For example, lung cancer, COPD, and some seasonal respiratory allergies (eg hay fever) may present with a typically dry and irritating cough or begin with violent greasy coughs.

At other times, however, coughing can be a side effect of an ongoing drug therapy.

Considering that fatty cough is a recurring symptom in many diseases, it is understandable that the differential diagnosis is essential for recovery.

For further information: Fatty Cough: Medicines, Remedies, Advice