My Dad is 74 years old, and suffers from emphysema. However in the last week.?

Question

He has started coughing up alot of blood. According to the cat scans, and scopes it is not.pnemonia,cancer, or a embolism. The doctors don't know what is is, they just seem to know what it is not. The bleeding is coming from his left lung. But because of the amount of blood, has started to splash into the right lung. His vitals are stable and he is in no pain.

Answer 1

Whether he is coughing liquid blood or red thick or thin phelgm, the doctors don't know what mine is either, but emphysema was ruled out. Maybe his problem is not emphysema? I wonder how he knows it is from his left lung vs the right lung? I had this too, is called hemoptosis, I have had nine bronchoscopies in the last three years, and in every one of them the cause and location was unable to be determined. I also had no pain, just extreme breathing difficulty or the bleeding. Your dad might need a second opinion - PLEASE pursue such, because I did not have the disease or condition that was first diagnosed, and perhaps his condition too is different from the current diagnosis. My condition is still pending, and I have been to 4 major hospitals in 4 years, including the Mayo Clinic. I wish you well and for your Dad.

Answer 2

What you are describing is called hemoptosis.

To help him, keep him calm. If you know he is bleeding on the left side, you should lean him toward that side. Keep head of bed elevated. Try to discourage coughing but if needed, attempt to do so without straining. Encourage fluids. I assume there has been an xray to rule out pneumonia? If your father is on oxygen keep the filter cleaned and if he is taking nebulizer tx, make sure to rinse the med cup from the nebulizer after each tx with hot water. This will prevent a fungal infection in the lungs. Hemoptosis occurs frequently in emphysema patients. I am an RN in long-term care. I see this frequently. Unfortunately, there is little you can do about this, except the things I mentioned above. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Other possible answers include a posterior nose bleed that is dripping down into his throat.

or

Esophageal varices [like hemorrhoids of the esophagus] common in heavy drinkers and other ailments, very dangerous


I am just naming two other possibilities

obviously if he still coughs up blood, a competent physician would either continue tests or refer him to a specialist to resolve the problem

if he has emphysema the oxygen may be drying out the mucous membranes and causing some cracking and bleeding

anyway it requires more searching on the part of a physician

Answer 4

Maybre he is coughing up blood, just because he is coughing so much, that happened 2 me once when i had a really bad cold, and that is what the doctors told me.

Answer 5

I would take him to get a second opinion.