Q: Can children swallow their own sputum?
A: Of course they can.
In fact, it is difficult to control our unconscious swallowing of sputum, which happens mostly during sleep.
Sputum is composed of mucous membrane secretions from the respiratory tract and the cellular debris, which be adhered with dust and pathogens such as viruses, bacteria. Excessive production of sputum and its accumulation in the respiratory tract can affect ventilation and irritate the respiratory tract to expel them by coughing.
Most of the pathogens in sputum will be destroyed by the digestive juices if sputum is swallowed into the digestive tract. Even if a few pathogens are still alive, it is difficult for them to cause infection in the digestive tract.
However, with the exception of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is highly resistant to acid and alkali, they can also cause intestinal tuberculosis through the digestive tract. The number of patients with active tuberculosis is, after all, small.
Therefore, although sputum is disgusting, it can be swallowed.
