Collect your sputum in the early morning unless your health care provider gives you different instructions. Do not eat, drink, smoke, brush your teeth, or use mouthwash before collecting your sputum. Make sure your first name, last name, and date of birth are on the label of the sample bottles. Collect your sputum away from other people. If possible, go outside or open a window while you collect your sputum. Open a sample bottle. Do not touch inside the sample bottle or inside the cap. Take a deep breath. Hold the air for a few seconds. Breathe out slowly. Take another deep breath. Cough hard until sputum comes up in your mouth. Spit the sputum into the sample bottle. Do this until there is enough sputum to cover the bottom of the bottle. Screw the cap on the sample bottle tightly so it does not leak. Write the date and time you collected the sputum on the label of the sample bottle. Seal the sample bottle in the plastic bag it came with. Do not put more than one sample bottle in each plastic bag. Make sure the test requisition paper is put in the pouch on the outside of the plastic bag (not inside with the sample bottle). After you finish collecting your sputum, wash your hands. For more information on proper hand washing