Thursday, December 10, 2009
While walking on campus you watch someone hack up and spit out a glob of saliva onto the sidewalk. That frothy ball of spit doesn’t just look gross; it’s full of bacteria that could be spreading to you.
Photo illustration by Kirsten Hudson
The rules of the road: Spitting isn’t allowed on the track at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center, but considering the germs it spreads and its general grossness, perhaps it should be banned everywhere.
Spitting in public places can spread diseases, says Pat Sullivan, registered nurse at Family Medicine Associates, 4921 W. 18th St. Respiratory diseases, such as colds and the flu, that spread through airborne bacteria caused by sneezing or coughing can also spread through spitting.
Spitting, like coughing or sneezing, is an automatic reflex. “We’re constantly swallowing so when stuff begins to accumulate the response is to try to get rid of it,” Sullivan says. Because more mucus accumulates in your throat when you’re sick, you feel the need to spit more often — and if you’re spewing a slimy spit wad in public when you have a cold, that means passing on more germs.
Instead of spitting out that gunky build-up in your throat, Sullivan suggests spitting into a tissue, throwing it away then washing your hands well.
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