13 Symptoms That You Could Have COPD

7. Thick, Colored Mucus

Also called sputum or phlegm, mucus is a sticky material produced by the body that lines the mouth, nose, sinuses, throat and lungs in order to keep bacteria, viruses, and allergens out of the body to stop them from causing unwanted sicknesses. And although creating mucus is a natural function of the body, when it’s due to COPD, there is normally an unusual excess amount that can be clear or dark yellow or green in color which causes people to cough in excess and make it harder to breathe. This is also why smokers tend to have a heightened risk of getting COPD since mucus formation is a common side effect of smoking. And to make matters worse, since smokers already produce a lot mucus, they don’t realize that they are already suffering from COPD and only find out when it’s in a more advanced stage. It’s important to remember that you don’t need to be a smoker though to develop COPD.