Don't spit around! It's a health risk

Indie rock band Hujan main vocalist Noh Salleh is once again under fire for spitting at the crowd during a music festival performance.

In an eight-second video clip which went viral on social media, the singer was seen on the stage and spat at the concert-goers who were offstage.

With Covid-19 still a persistent presence, what dangers does spitting entails?

As commonly known, saliva is home to various bacteria and viruses.

In fact, harmful microbes could be retained in the saliva for more than 24 hours and may cause respiratory diseases like Covid-19.

It should also be remembered that saliva contains mucus, literally a breeding ground for various kinds of germs.

Respiratory diseases are commonly transmitted through droplets which could enter the body through the mouth, nose and eyes.

With the global Covid-19 pandemic, even coughing and sneezing etiquette were recommended to be practised by everyone to ensure they do not endanger others with the droplets that could be spread from the outburst of a sneeze or cough.

According to the Health Ministry’s MyHealth portal, communicable diseases that could be transmitted by water droplets included the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis B, chickenpox, mumps, measles, SARS virus infection, common cold and flu.

In severe cases, some of the mentioned diseases like HFMD and TB could cause permanent damage to the body or may even cause death.

Other health complications like inflammation of the brain or encephalitis could also occur in severe cases of chickenpox, mumps and measles.

Pregnant women with measles could be in danger of miscarriage and premature delivery.

Chronic cases might be rare, but the likelihood of it should not be ignored and a simple starting point from the spread of droplets from sneezing, coughing or spitting should be mitigated.

However, with the advancement of medical technology, ensuring a high rate of recovery, complications from these diseases should not be underestimated.

Although these diseases could be treated and may be transmitted accidentally but deliberately putting the lives of others at risk was uncalled for.

Some countries have taken some legal and social initiatives to counter the dangers that came along with spitting.

For instance, the Enfield Council in London introduced a by-law in 2013 to render public spitting illegal.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China, a “Spit Bag” campaign was started where volunteers were seen handing out special spit bags and put up banners around the city so that people would be encouraged to stop spitting in order to improve manners.

The Tamil Nadu state of India enacted the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting Act 2002, prohibiting smoking and spitting in public areas which could be punished by a fine.

Seeing Noh outrightly spitting a dollop of saliva to the crowd like that leaves no question that if he had any infections or diseases that he was unaware of, the unfortunate fan who was on the receiving end of the spit would probably be infected as well.

In this sense, spitting could no longer be categorised as merely a bad habit but the action itself is now a health risk to others too.

Thus, those who chose to practise such habit despite knowing the possible risks following it was selfish and disregard the health and feelings of others.

For the ones who were on the regrettable end of someone's spitting, the area that was contacted by the spit should not be touched until it was quickly cleansed by soap and water or any alcohol-based sanitiser.

If possible, any clothes that were spat on should be changed immediately and the hands should also be washed right after.

To ensure full cleansing of the clothes from any remaining bacteria or viruses from the spit, the clothing should be washed in hot water.

On Oct 1, Noh performed at the Hausboom Music 2022 on Oct 1.

Also performing during the music festival were notable bands such as Wings, Masdo and Ruffedge and award-winning veteran rapper Joe Flizzow.