Do you spit?

[destrekor]

in the mornings, hopefully when no one is around, after brushing teeth. Can never get all of that out in one go.

Also have to hack up nasty shit from sinuses from time to time, and sending it out through the 'ol pie hole has long been the most efficient route.

I know the feeling.

And per Mayne's follow up question about swallowing that junk:

It just doesn't work. Perhaps it could for you zin, but for me, the crap that my sinuses produce, it's thick enough to choke on. I can tell when it's in the back of my nose/upper throat, and will try to hack/snort to shake it loose and try to push it down, as I hate to spit in public, but more often than not, it just feels like it gets stuck in the throat. So I force it back up and spit to rid myself of that evil.

 

[himkhan]

Why is this a thing?

 

[effowe]

Usually when there's some mucous that needs to come out and blowing the nose doesn't work, hocking up a nice loogie does the job. I can get some mad distance on some of them as well, I've perfected my technique.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I always understood that it is better to let your spit pass the esophagus to your stomach. As it is another point where your immune system can do some early detection of what is going to enter your digestive system. If your spit has pathogens, your immune system will find out if it did not already knew about it. Also, the bacterial colonies in the large intestines might help out in defending your body with whatever nasty critter survives the stomach acid.

 

[Moonbeam]

In Singapore you get caned for spitting gum on the street. It should apply everywhere to spitting anything. We need fewer not more disgusting pigs. Of course I also find problems with anybody who gets too rabid about anything.

 

[destrekor]

I always understood that it is better to let your spit pass the esophagus to your stomach. As it is another point where your immune system can do some early detection of what is going to enter your digestive system. If your spit has pathogens, your immune system will find out if it did not already knew about it. Also, the bacterial colonies in the large intestines might help out in defending your body with whatever nasty critter survives the stomach acid.

Regular saliva can help, yes, mucus, not so much.

And your saliva isn't exactly going to be a pathogenic substance. It's a first step in digestion. Your mouth will introduce some various pathogens into the saliva, but these aren't actually harmful to the body by means of digestion and don't need immunological defenses, nor can the body introduce any immunological defenses in the mouth, at least not that I recall. The only harm mouth bacteria can do is to your teeth and gums, and that's where systemic health impacts can begin to occur, by way of access to the gum tissue and bloodstream. But, again, there's nothing the body can do to defend itself in the mouth and killing any bacteria from the mouth that reach the gut isn't addressing the greater problem, because those bacteria cannot do any further damage elsewhere in the digestive tract, but could be lighting up the body from the mouth itself.

 

[destrekor]

In Singapore you get caned for spitting gum on the street. It should apply everywhere to spitting anything. We need fewer not more disgusting pigs. Of course I also find problems with anybody who gets too rabid about anything.

People who have to actually spit nasty crap out, will always spit. But, it's called being polite and finding an appropriate place to do so. On sidewalks? That's just wrong. In broad view of people? Ideally, no, but if you are in, say, a park-like setting, spitting at the base of a tree or elsewhere inconspicuously is hardly a crime if you cannot avoid it.
But ideally, trashcans out of broad view, and toilets/urinals, that's where I try to keep my nasty sinus drainage that must be expelled.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Regular saliva can help, yes, mucus, not so much.

And your saliva isn't exactly going to be a pathogenic substance. It's a first step in digestion. Your mouth will introduce some various pathogens into the saliva, but these aren't actually harmful to the body by means of digestion and don't need immunological defenses, nor can the body introduce any immunological defenses in the mouth, at least not that I recall. The only harm mouth bacteria can do is to your teeth and gums, and that's where systemic health impacts can begin to occur, by way of access to the gum tissue and bloodstream. But, again, there's nothing the body can do to defend itself in the mouth and killing any bacteria from the mouth that reach the gut isn't addressing the greater problem, because those bacteria cannot do any further damage elsewhere in the digestive tract, but could be lighting up the body from the mouth itself.

True. This i know. There are cases that even a cardiac problem can arise from a simple gum infection from bad mouth hygiene. The bacteria living in the mouth can take refugee in the tissue of the heart. Especially when the overall health is not that good. From research, there seems to be some correlation between bad mouth hygiene and cardiac failure with older people. I assume they tested the heart tissue for bacterial infections in those cases. The heart seems to be a good start to look for causes of death. Since so much blood flows through it bacterial infections can be found there.

But i remember reading that there may be more to the esophagus then just a means to get food(with saliva filled with digestive enzymes) in the stomach.
The esophagus may be a checkpoint where the immune system does some checking. And that can be highly likely because the immune system cells ( I do not know which type, there are many) can be found in all mucous membrane tissues. If i am not mistaken that is.