Should You Spit Or Swallow Mucus? Here's What An Expert Says

As we step into cold and flu season, many of us are reuniting with our old friend mucus. 

Coughing, sneezing, runny noses, all of it comes with a good ol’ dose of phlegm and wow is it humbling to be confronted with our own humanity via the means of gooey bodily fluids. 

When it’s coughed up, though, do you spit it out? Do you try to cough it up just so you can spit it out? According to a health expert, you may want to think twice before making that move.

Should you spit out phlegm?

Dr Nish Manek, a GP based in London wrote for BBC Science Focus and said that, actually, we are always producing mucus but it gets pushed to the back of the throat by microscopic hairs called cilia, and we often swallow it without noticing.

She said: “It’s only when you’re ill and it gets produced in excess that you might notice it more.

“When you’re unwell, your mucus can become thicker and stickier, but it’s still playing a vital role in trapping bacteria, viruses and cells that are mobilised from your immune system. So, for the most part, leaving the mucus alone is probably for the best.”

Of course, anybody that’s had a particularly phlegmy cough can tell you that it gets old real fast. 

Dr Manek recommended: “Keeping the air moist, using saline irrigation (using a sinus rinse, which you can buy or make yourself easily at home), gargling with salt water and staying hydrated can all help.”

She also advised that if you’re going to use nasal decongestants, it’s important that you don’t use them for more than a week at a time.

Finally, she added: “You don’t need to get rid of mucus and it won’t speed up your recovery if you do. But if it makes you feel better, there’s no harm.”