Doctor Explains What Happens If You Ever Taste Blood While Running

Doctor explains what happens if you ever taste blood while running

A doctor on TikTok has lifted the lid on what happens to your body when you can taste blood while exercising – and it’s actually all to do with your lungs

CommentsLifestyleZahna Eklund Senior Social News Reporter16:11, 22 Sep 2021Updated 16:11, 22 Sep 2021

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For some of us, going on a run or raising our blood pressure by other means can leave us with an odd taste in our mouth.

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And thanks to a doctor on TikTok, we’re now even more terrified to start exercising and get our blood pumping – because it turns out the taste is actually our own blood.

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TikTok user @lifeofadoctor shared a clip of a young girl out on a run who said she was “so unfit” that she could “taste blood”, and explained what was happening to her body.

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He said: “This is going to blow some minds, but if you’ve ever been running and started tasting blood, it’s actually because you were bleeding into your lungs.

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“When you start exercising, your blood pressure goes up. There are these tiny sacks deep within your lungs where blood runs through to get oxygenated, and when your blood pressure gets high, some of those burst open, releasing blood into your lungs.

“So, when you go to exhale, that blood gets taken up your windpipe, into your mouth and from there your tastebuds pick it up.

“And that’s why you’re tasting blood.”

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The doctor’s clip quickly went viral, with many people shocked by the revelation and wanting to know more.

One wrote: “Okay but I think you forgot the part of the video where you tell us if we should be concerned or not.”

Another stunned viewer posted: “You left out the part where you tell me if that’s going to kill me doc!”

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While a third added: “Okay, but please clarify. Is this okay or should she see a doctor?”

The doctor then clarified that any blood you may taste is a “tiny amount”, and is no cause for concern.

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He wrote in a comment: “And just to clarify it’s a tiny, tiny amount, so this is not an excuse to stop exercising! Don’t use me as your excuse.”

Other commenters left witty remarks on the video.

Someone said: “Note to self, ‘sue PE teacher for making me bleed into my lungs as a child’.”

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And another remarked: “This is far more terrifying than any reason I imagined. But carry on.”

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