My husband has not been sick or had any virus, but Thursday he was couging in the morning and coughed up phlegm with bright red blood about 6 times a day. 2 times it was just streaked red, but the other times it was about 1tsp. Sinced that first event, he has coughed up phlegm and blood (bright red and an clump about 1 1/2 inch across–not streaked. The sputum an phlegm does look bubbly). He did have gastric sleeve surgery well 2 years ago and has been doing well with it, although he does sometimes have reflux. Would irritation or ulceration in esophagus cause coughing up blood? What other things could cause this?