“Trombonests’ Lung” - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129725678
Ewwww!
Very interesting. I can remember cleaning out my sax and looking with disgust at the cleaning cloth after I finished. It’s amazing what can be lurking in there! 
lurking in a sax?
I remember it crawling out after me! 
That’s a good reason to not play instruments with twists and turns to their bore!
Hmmm… I think I might start cleaning whistle more regularly after reading that article.
The thing is … And I know that allergies and infections are nothing to sneeze at, so to speak …
If you’re sucking in that much air from the bore of your instrument - wind or brass, it doesn’t matter - yer doing it wrong.
A good friend of mine (who’s an excellent whistler from Moscow, ID) once went to a workshop at the Seattle Folklife Festival (several years ago, now).
The instructor, I’ve forgotten her name, played a couple of tunes to warm up the crowd and show off her skill.
Just after playing the tunes she took a big SUCK on the whistle, to clear the fipple.
My friend and I gasped at each other, in awe that she’d blow out into the whistle then suck back in the whistle dribble.
For the rest of the workshop we didn’t even listen to what she said, and only waited for the next big fipple suck.
Get over it… it’s the best way to clear a whistle. What you’re sucking back is merely condensed breath moisture that was in your own lungs just moments ago. Most people cover the window and blow, but blowing into the whistle can actually worsen the problem it’s trying to clear: all you’re doing is blowing MORE moisture into the whistle. Additionally, a quick suck can be performed right in the middle of a tune if necessary, with no need to move your hand to cover the window.
I heard that woodwind story on NPR the other day. As gross as it was, we can take comfort in the fact that this is not much of an issue for a short straight instrument like the whistle which dries pretty quickly after playing. And as Guru said, if you’re sucking that much crud back into your lungs, you’re doing it wrong.
Very authoritative - but not very convincing…
Think about it… there’s saliva in your mouth RIGHT NOW. Does that gross you out? Why should moisture that left your body only moments ago be offensive when reintroduced?
(although most whistle moisture is condensed breath, not saliva, but the idea is the same)
Paul, that is just sooooo gross!! 
Kissing would be much worse then, wouldn’t it? 
Please save us 
Ocarinists suck all the moisture (saliva and condensation) back in after/during playing quite frequently, as is there no way to clean the inside of an ocarina (no way to wipe the fipple or labium under side) and blowing just makes it worse.
Many ocarinas are impossible to completely dry the inside with any means at all, so moisture inside just rots for years!.. and then is sucked back in small amounts when playing =P.
My apologies in advance to the squeamish. After seeing this thread, I was reminded of a pic Phil Hardy posted on his site last year. A customer sent his whistle back due to a stuck tuning slide. The least of his worries IMHO! 
ah, Jimmy the toothless whistler’s whistle!
Anyone for a harmonica?
I know that regular swabbing out of wooden instruments is as important as keeping them properly oiled. I am a notorious cross-fippler and play in the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse Recorder Orchestra.
I recalled a show on fungi in the 70s that mentioned bagpipers could get serious fungal lung infections and found this after a quick search; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/900016.stm.
I know my sax instructor told me to suck the moisture out of my mouthpiece if I stared to make what to me were too subtle to notice gurgling sounds until he pointed them out to me so I would hear them. I quickly realized a regularly cleaned mouthpiece had a far less unpleasant flavor.
I read the article on BBC and the part of about the stomach doesn’t make a lot of sense. We don’t breath air into our stomachs, we breath into our lungs.
The only problem I foresee regarding the stomach is possible irritation where the esophagus passes through the diaphragm may have problems due to overextending the diaphragm. Any whistles players have hiatal hernia? I do, but I also played trumpet.
Check this out: [u]Google Link[/u]
NOTE: Before this post goes any further, keep in mind that we are not to make any medical recommendations on this forum. There is post somewhere here that speaks to that subject in the rules section. So I’ll stop here before black helicopters show up and Dale Force One lands behind my house.
[ Shortened link. - Mod ]
Too late! Whup whup whup whup … 
I am so going to have to show this to my girl. I practically have to threaten to beat her with her flute if she doesn’t clean it. We’ve had her flute for almost 2 years now, and it looks more beat up than the flute I’ve had since 1984. Ick. Just… ick.