Is it harmful to the body to swallow the phlegm that I coughed up?

Eating phlegm": due to inflammation of the trachea or discomfort in the lungs, phlegm appeared, because I didn't bring toilet paper, and I couldn't vomit in a public place, so I had to swallow this phlegm back. The phlegm that should have been eliminated was withdrawn from the body by itself.

Is this kind of behavior healthy or not, and will it make people sick?

3 things to know about phlegm.

01 Phlegm is a pathological product: Fluid is an important part of the human body and plays an important role in nourishing the body. The normal function of the body, especially the normal function of qi, can maintain the normal absorption, distribution and excretion of the fluid.

Once the metabolism of the fluid is impaired, the fusion of the fluid stops and the viscosity forms sputum, which is a product of dysfunction and pathological state.

02 The spleen is the source of phlegm: The spleen is a digestive organ and the main processing plant of acquired nutrition. The spleen plays an important role in the absorption, transfer and dispersion of water. Decreased spleen function will cause water to stagnate, and it will accumulate and form phlegm.

03 The lungs are phlegm-storing organs: the function of the lungs is to disperse the fluid throughout the body, and to dredge and regulate the distribution, operation and excretion of water. If the function of the lungs is abnormal, the distribution, operation and excretion of water and fluid will be impaired, and the sputum will accumulate and remain in the lungs, which is the place where the phlegm is stored.

Is phlegm swallowed back harmful to the body?

Sputum of a normal person: secretions in the airways and some foreign bodies such as bacteria and dust particles. They are all adsorbed by the respiratory tract and transported to the upper end of the respiratory tract through ciliary movement. We swallow them before we know it, and we barely feel the phlegm.

Phlegm when we are sick: When we are sick, the foreign bodies in the sputum increase greatly, and even contain some pathogenic bacteria. For example, if the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract is inflamed, the sputum becomes a battlefield after the human immune system fights microbes - which may contain inflammatory factors, inflammatory cells, immune cells killed in battle, pathogenic microorganisms, necrotic epithelial cells, etc.

Swallowing phlegm when you're sick: If you swallow coughed phlegm while you're sick, these germs can also enter your digestive system. Under normal circumstances, the number of such bacteria is small, and it will be sanitized by stomach acid and will not cause any effect on the body.

However, some bacteria, stomach acid can not be sanitized, such as active tuberculosis, then the sputum will contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis. If swallowed, Mycobacterium tuberculosis can enter the digestive system and may infect the gastrointestinal tract and cause intestinal tuberculosis.

Therefore, it is recommended that you carry some tissues with you when you are sick to solve your spitting needs in a timely manner, which not only protects the environment, but also does not harm your health.

Although phlegm is full of bacteria and other substances, after being swallowed, the phlegm will enter the stomach and intestines. There is strong gastric acid in the stomach, and these bacteria and dirty things can also make a little wave in the respiratory system, but when it comes to the stomach, it is only decomposed by gastric acid, and it can't resist, so under normal circumstances, if you swallow the phlegm back, in addition to feeling a little nauseous, it will not have much impact on the body.

Phlegm is originally a bacterium inside the human body, and if it is swallowed into the stomach again, it will absorb bacteria and toxins here, so when the phlegm chatters the bronchi, it will lead to the accumulation of bacteria, and when the bacteria on the bronchi accumulate too much, it will still enter the respiratory tract, causing secondary damage to the respiratory tract, and the cough will be more serious.

It will definitely hurt the body in particular, and it will generally enter the respiratory tract. Very severe respiratory lesions may also occur, so it is best not to swallow.

There will be harm, and the phlegm that is swallowed back will enter the digestive system, and the phlegm itself is a special lot of bacteria, and if it enters the digestive system, it will infect the digestive system.

Of course it's harmful. It re-enters the digestive tract and destroys digestive enzymes and causes damage to the body.