Sputum pots cause more revulsion for some health professionals than almost any other hospital vessel or container. For many patients, they are essential because they produce so much pooled waste material in their lungs, that collecting it in paper tissues become uneconomical and unhygienic.
Sputum pots are either small plastic lidded containers, or secure, clear-sided collection pots used to collect samples for investigation. Sputum pots can be hazardous to the unwitting physiotherapist as they are all too easily tipped over or knocked off a patient’s bedside table, and sputum can sometime sit for hours in the pot before being removed. Along with suction, they are are one of the main reasons why some physiotherapists actively avoid working in the respiratory care, and sputum is the worst waste matter that physiotherapists have a direct responsibility for. But the ability to help a patient expectorate a large amount of sputum and then breathe more easily comes with its own rewards. And the unpleasantness of sputum only serves to remind us of the phrase ‘better out than in’.
Sputum is ‘matter out of place’ (known as MOOP), and, like blood, urine, and faeces, is a source of existential angst for many people. Sputum should be contained within the body, and spitting in public is considered both a health hazard and a dirty practice in many cultures. Long gone are the days when spittoons sat on the floor of bars and pubs and people expectorated in public. In the post-COVID era, no-one wants to see these kinds of sputum pot return.
Description provided by Dave Nicholls of New Zealand.
