# Is It Acceptable To Spit If I Have Allergies **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195 "2011-04-13T03:29:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/21 "2011-04-13T14:28:23Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Suppose I don’t have any immediate access to kleenex. Clearly you are either not a Boy Scout or had a crappy Scoutmaster. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/22 "2011-04-13T14:31:59Z")
Sure, you can spit. You have every right to I suppose. I also have every right to think of you as a trashy, low-class piece of work. Horking up mucous is disgusting, but I put up with because I know it’s just the way some people are. Horking it up on the floor like it’s your personal trash can is beyond the pale. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/23 "2011-04-13T15:25:41Z")
Today my cough has finally become productive. I know this is a good thing for recovery from this miserable virus but I’m really really glad I’m working from home today. If I was in the office the repeated runs to the washroom so the cough could be productive would mean that I wouldn’t be. As it is the wastebasket has been relocated to the side of my desk and already needs to be emptied. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/24 "2011-04-13T16:27:13Z")
Another vote for absolutely not. That’s disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/25 "2011-04-13T16:41:51Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Things not to do in public, in order of importance: > [ul] > [li]Spit[/li][li]Piss[/li][li]Shit[/li][li]Ejaculate[/li][/ul] > > Just in case you were wondering. Well there go my plans for the weekend.😛 I have seen people do all but the last one.:(:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/26 "2011-04-14T01:03:34Z")
I’m legitimately disappointed this was not made a poll. I seriously think it might have been the most lopsided ever. I had a roommate who had an overactive mucus gland. He used to spit, nay, hork in the dorm room, on the carpet. Huge honking loogies that smelled. It made him just a wee bit unpopular among the 9 people in our flat, and I still can’t completely get over it. Don’t be that guy. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/27 "2011-04-14T01:30:50Z")
I think I speak for most of us when I say almost no one is that guy, **Auto.** Holeee shit! ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/28 "2011-04-14T01:34:23Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I think I speak for most of us when I say almost no one is that guy, **Auto.** Holeee shit! Oh, and I forgot to mention that sometimes he wouldn’t even clean them up until a few minutes later. SOMEtimes he would get distracted and forget to clean them up. :(:mad::(:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/29 "2011-04-15T15:16:38Z")
Oh god. Between overactive mucus gland and spitting in the drinking fountain, I feel ill. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/30 "2011-04-15T16:40:57Z")
Street, gutter, bathroom, etc- Yes. Indeed, that’s one of the purposes of a gutter. Sidewalk, other places where people commonly walk, your cube- No. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/31 "2011-04-15T17:49:12Z")
I’ll post a possible exception to the no-spitting-in-public rule: while running competitively (such as in a 5K or marathon) or while training. Especially in cold weather, you can build up gunk in your mouth that’s difficult to swallow and screws up your breathing, and IMHO it would be just a little twee (and mess up your pace) to pull out your hanky or Kleenex pack, spit into it, and then find a pocket (if you have one) to stash it in. There are rules, however: go off to the side, try to be away from other people and spectators when you do it, spit into the grass or maybe gravel rather than the roadway or sidewalk/path, and don’t be “stringy.” I occasionally need to spit when I’m training at home, but I live in Buttfuck, Nowhere, and I run on rural roads where nobody can see me but the squirrels. **But in ordinary, out-and-about-in-public scenarios? HELL TO THE NO.** ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/32 "2011-04-15T18:46:37Z")
Never acceptable. Always disgusting. And while we’re at it with “spit on the grass”, two things. One, you shouldn’t do it if there’s anyone around, because it’s nasty to watch. Two, if it’s someone else’s lawn, or a public park where people have reasonable expectation of being able to sit down on the grass their taxes paid for, DO NOT spit on the grass. All in all, just don’t spit. There’s no need; the places making the mucus are all joined up with the bit that can make it go away, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Kalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df705f/32.png) [@Kalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalypso)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/33 "2011-04-15T19:39:50Z")
A couple weeks ago I came around a corner and happened upon an older, foreign-born man spitting into a flower bed. He apologized profusely to me for having to see him spit, which I thought was extremely polite of him and left me feeling kindness rather than disgust. Most men around here aren’t half so classy. Please don’t spit, it’s nasty. I always just swallow mucous because even my own spit is nauseating to me. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/34 "2011-04-16T01:50:06Z")
You may be intrigued to know that in some Muslim countries there is much spitting going on. It’s not just that Asian’s see hoyking things up as somewhat healthy, it’s especially spitty during Ramadan. In very devout communities, during the daylight hours fast, believers are not even to swallow their own spit. So there is a lot of willy nilly spitting going on. The exact minute when the fast can be broken in listed daily in the paper. Wouldn’t like to be mistaken for a Muslim, now, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/35 "2011-04-16T02:03:08Z")
No, no, and HELL NO! God, there used to be this guy in my neighborhood who would walk down the street and would hork up loogies all over the place. You could hear him gagging them up – it was absolutely foul. (I swear, you could hear him when you were sitting inside the living room) Dude, just don’t do it. If you must, go into the bathroom and spit into the toilet. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/36 "2011-04-16T02:12:07Z")
Unless you have cystic fibrosis and are in imminent danger of choking to death on your own secretions…no. If you have allergies, \*especially \*no. It’s not like you didn’t know you were going to need a Kleenex because of a sudden and unforeseen cold virus. Be a fucking adult a bring the things you need with you. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/37 "2011-04-16T05:35:52Z")
I think if it’s onto the street or the train tracks, then it’s ok. Never onto the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/38 "2011-04-16T09:46:40Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Suppose I don’t have any immediate access to kleenex. Spit in your pants. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195/39 "2011-04-16T11:43:07Z")
If you work outside, or have access to a gutter or something, then it’s fine. Otherwise you need to use a kleenex, or a spit cup or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-acceptable-to-spit-if-i-have-allergies/578195.md?page=1)