Mucus: Understanding Expert Insights and Facts

Is mucus good or bad? I know having to cough it up, or spit it out because of its production is down right annoying, say your in a meeting or driving and it comes up. Or your in the middle of speaking and BAM there it is, so here is some information.

Mucus serves as a lubricant to keep tissues from drying out. It's also a line of defense. “Mucus is very important for filtering out materials that you breathe in through your nose, such as dust and allergens and microorganisms, so its a GOOD THING” says Dr. Andrew Lane, an ear, nose, and throat expert at Johns Hopkins University.

In humans, that us alkaline mucus is present in several organs and provides protection by way of its alkalinity and high viscosity. Alkaline mucus exists in the human eye, stomach, saliva, and cervix. In the stomach, alkaline mucus is secreted by gastric glands in the gastric mucosa of the stomach wall again a very good thing for us. Our bodies naturally produce mucus, however when we have an infection such as a cold, the body produces more to help fight the virus, here is where bringing it up comes into play, its ok to spit, cough it up and out. Lemon is very good at breaking down this mucus, loosening it up so that we can expel it more easily. Coughing is good,” Dr. Boucher says. “When you cough up mucus when you are sick, you are essentially clearing the bad guys—viruses or bacteria—from your body.