Should You Spit Your Mucus Out? Here's What Experts Say

The United State is facing many diseases all at once, while the cases of bird-flu are rising, respiratory viruses are also spreading across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that COVID-19, the flu, and RSV cases will jump over the next few weeks. While the symptoms for these three may vary, what is common in all is the extra mucus in your throat and chest.

Have you fallen sick and thought about what to do with the excess mucus production? At times, when you are in public, have you ever thought of what to do with the extra mucus? Should you spit it out, or swallow it? If at all this impacts your recovery? We've the answers.

What Is Mucus?

It is a substance that lines the moist surface of our body, including lungs, sinuses, mouth, stomach, intestine and even eyes. What is it made of? It mostly contains water and large molecules called glycoproteins, which are a hybrid of sugars and protein that gives mucus its thick and sticky consistency. It also has other components like salts, and molecules from our immune defense system. So does that mean spitting out your mucus may take away immune defense system's molecules out of your body?

While it is a lubricant which also provides a barrier between you and the outside world as it filters whatever you breathe in, it also traps debris, allergens, viruses, and bacteria from going into your airways.

So, why do we get mucus when we are sick?

Extra mucus is one of the common signs that you are sick and that you immune system is working hard. Mucus contains antibodies that help fight foreign substances, and lysozyme, an enzyme that combats bacteria.

So, when we get sick, our body produces more mucus as a manner of defending itself. Furthermore, the extra mucus also helps wash the pathogens away.

ALSO READ: Natural Remedies For 6 Common Ailments To Boost Immunity And Destress

What should we do with the extra mucus?

Excess mucus, whether in your throat or your lungs should be spit out. Most doctors too agree with this. While mucus does protect you, the one that is produced when you are sick is filled with irritants, allergens, and infectious organisms that must be cleared from the body. Doctors also recommend spitting it out to open up the drainage pathways of your nose and sinuses.

While there are some notions that suggests that swallowing cough could harm your stomach or intestines, doctors say that there are no such evidence for this. Experts suggest that even if you swallow your mucus, it gets eliminated through the gastrointestinal tract. This means our GI tract breaks the mucus down, and we eventually excrete it.

While spitting out mucus can make us feel better in the moment, on an average, we sallow mucus all day, all of this gets broken down in our GI tract.

How can one get rid of the extra mucus

To clear the mucus when you are sick, here are somethings you can do:

• Stay hydrated, as dehydration can make the mucus even more thick and could be difficult to clear
• Use nasal irrigation. It is a tool like a neti pot that can help wash out mucus that has bacteria and viruses trapped in it
• Saline spray helps loosen mucus and move it out of your sinuses
• A steamy shower can also help with the same
• If none of that works, you can always use over-the-counter medications to reduce the amount of mucus