In order to prevent tainting of a cougher's hand with germs, the product from a cough is carried in contact with a germicide inside a hollow article, and is vented out of the hollow article, in directions away from the user's face and hand holding the article. More specifically, the cough catcher has a hollow region for accepting the product from a cough therein. This hollow region has a filter element containing a germicide mounted therein, and a series of channels formed between the filter element and a bottom surface of the hollow region. The channels communicate with vent ports around a rim portion of the cough catcher. The vent ports are oriented away from both the mouth opening and the outside surface of the cough catcher for conveying the product from a cough away from both the face and the hand of a user.