If you are using good, properly thinned, clean paint, this shouldn't happen. You should always "open up" away from the subject to confirm you have good flow before you start, & if you still are not confident, then do the same whenever "open up" after stopping the paint flow.
Stuff does happen though, but if you keep a keen eye on the paint as it is laying down & also listen to your brush, you should be able to stop the flow of paint before much damage is done. Regards the damage, if it's towards the end of a job I usually let it dry, smooth it down with fine paper if required & then do a "touch up" - think about it, automotive body shops make a living by doing this with overgrown airbrushes.
Or do we do our thing with shrunken spray guns?