UnsplashAs we step into cold and flu season, many of us are reuniting with our old friend mucus. Coughing, sneezing, runny noses, all of it comes with a good ol’ dose of phlegm and wow is it humbling to be confronted with our own humanity via the means of gooey bodily fluids. When it’s coughed up, though, do you spit it out? Do you try to cough it up just so you can spit it out? According to a health expert, you may want to think twice before making that move.Should you spit out phlegm?Dr Nish Manek, a GP based in London wrote for BBC Science Focus and said that, actually, we are always producing mucus but it gets pushed to the back of the throat by microscopic hairs called cilia, and we often swallow it without noticing.She said: “It’s only when you’re ill and it gets produced in excess that you might notice it more.“When you’re unwell, your mucus can become thicker and stickier, but it’s still playing a vital role in trapping bacteria, viruses and cells that are mobilised from your immune system. So