How to handle foreign objects in the nose. What are the symptoms of swallowing disorders. When to seek medical attention for objects stuck in the nose or throat. How to perform first aid for children with objects in their nose.

Understanding Foreign Objects in the Nose: Causes and Risks

Foreign objects lodged in the nose can be a common occurrence, especially among children. These objects can range from small toys to food particles, and in some cases, even button batteries. Understanding the potential risks associated with different types of foreign objects is crucial for determining the appropriate course of action.

Button batteries pose a particularly serious threat. If a button battery becomes lodged in the nose or throat, it can cause severe burns and tissue damage within a matter of hours. This situation requires immediate medical attention.

Common Objects Found in Children’s Noses

• Small toys or toy parts
• Food particles
• Beads
• Paper
• Erasers
• Pebbles or small rocks

Why do children put objects in their noses? Curiosity and exploration are natural parts of childhood development. Children may insert objects into their noses out of curiosity, as a game, or accidentally while playing.

First Aid Steps for Removing Objects from the Nose

When faced with a situation where an object is stuck in someone’s nose, particularly a child’s, it’s important to remain calm and follow these first aid steps:

1. Identify the object if possible
2. Calm the person and encourage mouth breathing
3. Check if the object is visible
4. Attempt gentle removal techniques
5. Seek medical help if unsuccessful

Can you remove a foreign object from the nose at home? In some cases, yes, but it’s crucial to exercise caution. If the object is clearly visible and can be easily grasped, you may attempt to remove it gently with tweezers. However, if there’s any resistance or if the object is lodged deep in the nasal cavity, it’s best to seek professional medical help.

The “Mother’s Kiss” Technique

One method that can be effective for removing objects from a child’s nose is known as the “Mother’s Kiss” technique:

1. Close the unaffected nostril with a finger
2. Place your mouth over the child’s mouth
3. Blow a quick puff of air into the child’s mouth
4. The pressure may dislodge the object from the nose

Is the “Mother’s Kiss” technique safe? When performed correctly, this technique is generally safe and can be effective. However, it should not be attempted repeatedly if unsuccessful, as it may push the object further into the nasal cavity.

When to Seek Immediate Medical Attention

While many cases of objects stuck in the nose can be resolved at home or with minimal medical intervention, there are situations that require immediate professional attention:

• Presence of a button battery
• Difficulty breathing
• Severe pain or discomfort
• Persistent bleeding
• Signs of infection (such as fever or foul-smelling discharge)
• Inability to remove the object after gentle attempts

How quickly should you seek medical help for a foreign object in the nose? If the object cannot be easily removed or if there are any signs of distress, it’s best to seek medical attention within a few hours. For potentially dangerous objects like button batteries, immediate emergency care is necessary.

Understanding Swallowing Disorders: Dysphagia and Odynophagia

Swallowing disorders can significantly impact a person’s quality of life and overall health. Two primary types of swallowing disorders are dysphagia and odynophagia.

Dysphagia

Dysphagia refers to difficulty or discomfort in swallowing. It can manifest as a sensation of food getting stuck in the throat or chest, or as discoordination leading to coughing or choking during swallowing.

What causes dysphagia? Dysphagia can result from various factors, including:

• Neurological conditions (e.g., stroke, Parkinson’s disease)
• Muscular disorders
• Structural abnormalities in the throat or esophagus
• Age-related changes in swallowing mechanics
• Certain medications

Odynophagia

Odynophagia is characterized by pain in the throat or chest during swallowing. This condition can make eating and drinking uncomfortable or even painful.

What distinguishes odynophagia from dysphagia? While dysphagia primarily involves difficulty in the mechanical process of swallowing, odynophagia specifically relates to pain experienced during swallowing. However, these conditions can co-exist in some cases.

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Swallowing Disorders

Recognizing the symptoms of swallowing disorders is crucial for early diagnosis and treatment. Common symptoms include:

• Difficulty initiating swallowing
• Coughing or choking while eating or drinking
• Regurgitation of food or liquids
• Sensation of food being stuck in the throat or chest
• Unexplained weight loss
• Recurrent chest infections

How are swallowing disorders diagnosed? Diagnosis typically involves a combination of physical examination, medical history review, and specialized tests such as:

1. Barium swallow study
2. Endoscopy
3. Manometry
4. pH monitoring

These diagnostic tools help healthcare providers determine the underlying cause of the swallowing disorder and develop an appropriate treatment plan.

Treatment Options for Swallowing Disorders

The treatment of swallowing disorders varies depending on the underlying cause and severity of the condition. Some common approaches include:

Behavioral and Dietary Modifications

• Changing eating habits (e.g., smaller bites, slower eating)
• Modifying food textures
• Postural changes while eating
• Swallowing exercises and techniques

Medical Interventions

• Medications to reduce acid reflux or relax the esophagus
• Botox injections for certain muscular disorders
• Treatment of underlying conditions (e.g., infections, tumors)

Surgical Options

• Dilation of the esophagus
• Removal of obstructions
• Correction of structural abnormalities

Can swallowing disorders be cured completely? The prognosis for swallowing disorders varies widely. Some conditions can be fully resolved with appropriate treatment, while others may require ongoing management. Early diagnosis and intervention often lead to better outcomes.

Preventing Foreign Objects in the Nose and Throat

While it’s not always possible to prevent accidents, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of foreign objects becoming lodged in the nose or throat, especially in children:

• Keep small objects out of reach of young children
• Teach children about the dangers of putting objects in their nose or mouth
• Supervise children during mealtimes and playtime
• Cut food into appropriate sizes for young children
• Encourage proper chewing and eating habits

How can you create a safe environment for children to prevent such incidents? Regular safety audits of living spaces, securing potentially dangerous items, and maintaining open communication with children about safety can significantly reduce risks.

Long-term Management of Swallowing Disorders

For individuals with chronic swallowing disorders, long-term management strategies are essential for maintaining quality of life and preventing complications. These may include:

• Regular follow-ups with healthcare providers
• Ongoing swallowing therapy or exercises
• Nutritional counseling to ensure adequate intake
• Use of assistive feeding devices when necessary
• Psychological support to address anxiety or depression related to eating difficulties

What role does lifestyle play in managing swallowing disorders? Lifestyle factors such as stress management, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding triggers (e.g., certain foods or eating positions) can significantly impact the management of swallowing disorders.

Technological Advancements in Swallowing Disorder Treatment

Recent technological advancements have opened up new possibilities for treating and managing swallowing disorders:

• Neuromuscular electrical stimulation
• Virtual reality-based swallowing therapy
• Advanced imaging techniques for more precise diagnosis
• Robotic-assisted swallowing rehabilitation

How are these technologies changing the landscape of swallowing disorder treatment? These innovations are allowing for more personalized and effective treatment approaches, potentially improving outcomes for patients with complex swallowing disorders.

In conclusion, understanding the risks associated with foreign objects in the nose and throat, as well as the complexities of swallowing disorders, is crucial for prompt and effective management. Whether dealing with a child who has inserted an object into their nose or an adult experiencing difficulty swallowing, timely intervention and appropriate medical care are key to preventing complications and ensuring the best possible outcomes. By staying informed and vigilant, we can better protect ourselves and our loved ones from these common yet potentially serious health issues.

Something Stuck Between Nose and Throat: First Aid Tips

First Aid for Children with an Object Stuck in Their Nose

Identify the object

Once you have noted that there is something stuck between the nose and throat of your child, try to identify the object. Ask your child or their playmates. Most objects are not immediately serious, but if it is a button battery, bring your child to the hospital right away. This is because a button battery can cause burns and other serious harm when left for even just a few hours. If you cannot identify the object, consider it an emergency and bring your child to the hospital.

Soothe your child to stop their crying

If a child panics, they may cry. Crying may result in sniffling, which is equivalent to breathing in through one’s nose. Remember that it is important to breathe through the mouth when there is something stuck between the nose and throat. So, calm the child and remind them to breathe through their mouth.

Check if the object is visible

Sit the child down and make a visual inspection. Do not spend too much time on this step. Simply look if the object is visible. If it is not visible, bring your child to the hospital.

Try to remove the object

If you can see the object from one nostril, close the other nostril and ask your child to breathe in using their mouth and then blow out through the affected nostril. Remember to tell them they should blow gently. If this step does not work, avoid repeated blowing of the nose.

Use tweezers

If you can finally see the object and it is large enough to be removed by tweezers, do so gently and bluntly. If the object is too small, you only risk pushing it further.

Go to the doctor

If the object remains lodged, do not wait any longer. Go to the hospital to have your child checked.

First Aid Information for Foreign Body, Nose

Call 911 if the person:

• Is choking
• Has difficulty breathing

For choking, see Choking Treatment.

1. Remove Object, if Possible

• Have the person breathe through their mouth.
• For adult with an object partially out of the nose, try to remove it with fingers or tweezers. Do not push it further into the nose.
• For an object deeper in the nose, pinch the clear side of the nose closed. Have the person blow their nose hard several times. This may dislodge the object.
• Do not try to grab or pull an object that is stuck up a child’s nose. You can try gently closing the unaffected nostril. Blow a puff of air into the child’s mouth. Repeat as necessary.
• If minor bleeding occurs after object removal, firmly pinch the nose shut for 10 minutes. You can also put a cold pack on the nose or cheeks for bleeding.

2. When to See a Health Care Provider

See a health care provider or go to a hospital emergency room if:

• You can’t remove the object or can only remove part of it.
• The object poses immediate danger.
• You’re not comfortable removing a sharp object, such as a nose ring or stud or broken glass.
• The person has a bloody nose that can’t be stopped.
• Bad smelling fluid draining out of the nose.

3. Follow Up

• Call your health care provider if signs of infection appear.

If the nose is tender or stuffy:

• Give extra fluids for 2 to 3 days.
• Have the person breathe moist air from a humidifier or hot shower.
• Have the person sleep with head elevated.
• Ask your health care provider about using an oral decongestant or decongestant nasal spray.

If you seek medical help to remove the object:

• The health care provider will use suction or another method to remove it. The person may need numbing drops placed in the nose or to be sedated.
• The health care provider may prescribe nose drops or an antibiotic ointment.

Swallowing Disorders | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Swallowing is a set of coordinated muscle movements that control the mouth, the back of the throat (pharynx) and the food tube (esophagus). Swallowing occurs without us even thinking about it, yet it is a complex and vital function, as it is very important to eating and social interaction. 

Types of Swallowing Disorders

Trouble with swallowing refers to two problems:

• Dysphagia — the sensation of food or fluid being regurgitated or stuck in the chest; also any throat discoordination leading to coughing or choking during swallowing
• Odynophagia — pain in throat or chest during swallowing

Swallowing disorders may result from a lack of coordination of the nerves or muscles, or sometimes from infections and tumors.

Symptoms of Swallowing Disorders

Swallowing disorders result in a number of troubling symptoms. If you have trouble swallowing, you may have just one problem (like pain with swallowing) or you may experience a few different problems (like difficulty when starting to swallow and then coughing during the swallow). Since some swallowing disorders may be serious, it is important to get a proper diagnosis. Johns Hopkins gastroenterologists can quickly and accurately diagnose any swallowing disorder you may have.

Symptoms of swallowing disorders include:

• Dysphagia — a sense of food “sticking” on the way down and difficulty passing food or liquid from the mouth to the esophagus to the stomach
• Coughing during or immediately after swallowing
• Choking — a feeling of food or liquid sticking in the throat or esophagus followed by coughing
• Regurgitation — the return of food or liquid back to the mouth or pharynx after it successfully passed. This happens effortlessly, unlike vomiting, which involves contraction of abdominal muscles. If the regurgitation tastes like ingested food, it usually indicates a swallowing disorder; if it tastes sour or bitter, that indicates it reached the stomach and it is more likely gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
• Nasal regurgitation — when food or fluid comes up into the nose; this occurs when the nasopharynx does not close properly

Other symptoms may include:

• Sore throat
• Hoarseness
• Shortness of breath
• Chest discomfort or pain

It can be hard to match up symptoms to a specific disorder on your own. An experienced gastroenterologist is specially trained to help diagnose all types of swallowing disorders. It is important to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist if you are having any of these symptoms.

Diagnosis of Swallowing Disorders

Your doctor will begin with a thorough physical examination and will ask you about your medical history. It may be helpful to write down when you have your symptoms, whether any foods in particular aggravate your symptoms and when you think the trouble started, and bring this list to your appointment.

Your history of symptoms will help your doctor determine the type of disorder you may have and the tests necessary to determine the cause.

Diagnostic procedures your doctor may order include:

Endoscopy

Gastroenterologists perform endoscopies, a frequently used diagnostic procedure for swallowing disorders. Your doctor may perform an endoscopy to examine the esophagus and stomach. An endoscope is a thin, lighted tube with a camera at its tip that allows your doctor a better view of your condition.

During an endoscopy:

• You are sedated.
• Your doctor inserts a flexible endoscope through your mouth and into your esophagus.
• The endoscope allows your doctor to examine your stomach, duodenum (the first part of your small intestine) and esophagus.
• Your doctor looks for tumors, esophageal strictures (narrowing) and abnormalities in the mucous lining.
• If necessary, your doctor can perform a biopsy, removing abnormal tissue for further analysis.

Barium Esophagram

Barium X-ray studies are often the first step in diagnosing swallowing disorders. This procedure allows your doctor to evaluate your entire swallowing channel, which includes the mouth, pharynx and esophagus. This provides a better view of both the structure and function of the swallowing channel, and offers a contrast so abnormalities show up on the X-ray.

During barium esophagram:

• You swallow liquid called barium, which shows up on X-rays in bright contrasts to the other structures.
• The barium coats your gastrointestinal tract, making it easier for the doctor to see the structures and detect abnormalities.
• An X-ray is performed — sometimes a single X-ray and other times a sequence of X-rays, which make a kind of movie to better capture how your swallowing channel works.
• The X-ray pictures are stored for your doctor to evaluate.

Esophageal Manometry

An esophageal manometry evaluates the changes in pressure that happen when you swallow.

During an esophageal manometry:

• Your nurse will pass a thin, flexible catheter through your nose or mouth, down your throat and into your stomach. While it can be slightly uncomfortable to have a tube in your nose, the test only lasts about 10 minutes.
• Attached to the tube are a number of pressure sensors.
• Using the pressure sensors, your doctor can assess the recording of your swallowing muscles in action.
• You start by swallowing a few sips of water.
• You may bring foods that trigger your symptoms; this way, your doctor can see what is happening in real time.

Esophageal manometry provides your doctor with real-time information about:

• Strength and coordination of the muscle movements (peristalsis) of the pharynx and esophagus.
• Strength and relaxation function of the upper and lower esophageal sphincters. A sphincter is a muscle that opens and closes; the lower esophageal sphincter is the muscle that controls the emptying of foods from the esophagus to the stomach.

Wireless pH Testing

Wireless pH testing allows your doctor to evaluate your reflux activity over a 48-hour period, while you are continuing your normal activities. To perform wireless pH testing:

• Your doctor performs an endoscopy and places a small chip in the lower esophagus.
• The chip records acid at that site for 48 hours. A newer version allows for 96 hours of recording when recommended by your doctor.
• The chip transmits your acid level to a wireless recording device that you wear on a belt.
• The recording device is sent to your doctor who downloads the data and can gauge your reflux severity.

24-Hour pH Impedance

Your doctor may order this procedure to evaluate your reflux. During pH impedance:

• Your nurse places a thin, flexible catheter with an acid-sensitive tip through your nose into your esophagus. The catheter is placed in separate recording spots to evaluate the flow of liquid from your stomach into your esophagus.
• The catheter stays in your nose for a period of 24 hours.
• Your doctor is able to evaluate the recordings to see whether you have GERD, the severity of your reflux and the correlation between your reflux and symptoms, along with the presence of nonacid reflux.

Most people have some reflux on a daily basis, but your doctor is looking for an excessive amount of reflux.

Feel Like Food is Stuck In Your Throat? – Cleveland Clinic

The feeling that something is stuck in your throat is a miserable feeling. The chronic irritation and coughing, or the inability to swallow your own spit is enough to make anyone feel crazy.

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Whether you can pinpoint something you ate that might be stuck (like a piece of steak or hotdog), or if the feeling has been plaguing you for months without a clear reason – it’s best to seek medical help as soon as possible.

When it comes to feeling like food is stuck in your throat, it usually comes down to three culprits:

• Dysphagia. There can be several different causes of dysphagia, but a common one is eating something and it getting stuck in your esophagus (also known as food obstruction). When dysphagia from food obstruction happens, people can still breathe, but it’s typically painful, uncomfortable and can be potentially very dangerous. Most people can identify something they recently ate that got stuck. Maybe you swallowed a piece of steak or didn’t realize there were bones in the fish you just ate. The next thing you know, you feel a painful and irritating lump in your throat or chest. Some people even report not being able to swallow their own saliva.
• Dysphagia from GERD. Another common cause of dysphagia is Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This is a severe form of acid reflux where the stomach content flows back up into the esophagus and irritates it. It can cause a cough or the nagging feeling that something is stuck in your throat.
• Globus pharyngeus. This is a persistent feeling that something is stuck in the throat or chest, but there typically isn’t a direct link back to what it could be. Some people describe it as feeling like they swallowed a pill and it only got half way down. Although globus pharyngeus is typically not very painful, it can be very annoying. Often times, those who have it eventually end up at the doctor’s office questioning what it could be.

“Most people with food obstruction can almost always identify what they ate that is now stuck in their esophagus,” says gastroenterologist Christine Lee, MD. “But with globus pharyngeus, most people describe the sensation as a lump that has been affecting their swallowing for weeks or months.”

Globus pharyngeus is generally not very serious, however it’s important to distinguish it from true esophageal dysphagia – whether from food obstruction or difficulty passing food through the esophagus.

Dr. Lee says that if something is bothering you, it may be the body’s way of telling you something’s not right, and it’s best to have it checked out.

Dysphagia from food obstruction

One minute you’re enjoying a tender and delicious filet
mignon – and the next thing you know you’re coughing and trying to clear your
throat over a painful lump. No matter how much you swallow or water you drink –
the sensation that a piece of steak is stuck in your throat just won’t go away.
 

Are you choking? You can still breathe, but your throat and chest hurt. What
gives?

Food obstruction can be very dangerous depending on what is
stuck and where it’s stuck, says Dr. Lee. If a piece of food is stuck in the upper
esophagus, it can get dislodged and fall into the wind pipe, which would cut off
the air supply and the person might turn blue and pass out. If the food is
stuck in the lower esophagus, the person could probably still swallow their
spit, but it would be very painful.

Food or a foreign object stuck in the esophagus can cause
contact irritation, inflammation and erosion. Meat with tenderizer or marinade
on it, if lodged in the esophagus for a prolonged period of time, can cause damage
to the esophageal lining.

“If you can’t swallow your own saliva, start drooling, have
shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, you need to seek immediate medical
attention or call 911,” says Dr. Lee.

And when it comes to home remedies for removing the food item, Dr. Lee is skeptical. If the food obstruction is mild, water or carbonated beverages might help ease the food down, but be careful to not overdo it. If the food obstruction is severe, you run the risk of adding to it.

Most people won’t tolerate more than a couple of hours with a food obstruction because the pain is too uncomfortable.

Dysphagia from GERD

Chronic heartburn and indigestion is typically referred to as GERD. When the acids in your stomach back up into the esophagus, it irritates the lining, which can cause a burning sensation in the throat and neck, coughing or a feeling that something is stuck behind your breastbone. You might even notice that eating certain things, like fried or fatty food, makes your symptoms worse.

Usually antacids or over-the-counter medication can help manage heartburn or indigestion, but if you notice that you’re chronically having these symptoms, it’s best to see your doctor for an evaluation.

“If we suspect someone has GERD, we’ll take a full medical exam and history,” explains Dr. Lee. “Then we might recommend an endoscopy, probe test, x-ray or esophageal manometry, which measures your esophagus muscle contractions when you swallow, to diagnosis it.”

Globus pharyngeus – why do I constantly feel like something is stuck in my throat?

Most people with globus pharyngeus say that the sensation is more uncomfortable than painful. Often times, the sensation that something is stuck in the throat didn’t come on all of a sudden, rather it’s been lingering for a while now. It’s more of a nuisance than anything else.

And what do most people do when they feel like something is constantly stuck in their throat? They cough and try to clear it. Trouble is, if you’re continually coughing and trying to clear your throat, you’re going to further irritate the lining of your esophagus. This can cause even more irritation. It’s like a vicious circle.

Globus pharyngeus is most commonly due to some form of
irritation or inflammation, explains Dr. Lee. If the sensation is in the throat,
an ENT specialist will typically use a laryngoscope to evaluate the throat and
the vocal cords.

“Sometimes it’s a tiny fish bone causing the irritation,”
she says. “Once we found a teeny piece of aluminum foil that was stuck in
someone’s esophagus.”

But what if they don’t find anything with a scope?

“If we’ve proven that there’s nothing there, we’ll look for signs of post nasal drip, allergies, viral infections, diseases or even signs of anxiety,” says Dr. Lee. “We’ll also consider the environment. Is the air cold and dry? Or is it peak pollen season?”

Dr. Lee stresses that any symptom, however little, should be addressed by a doctor.

Yes, it’s possible to sneeze out spaghetti

When I was six years old, I sneezed a noodle out of my nose.

I was at the airport with my family. We were running to catch a flight somewhere, and suddenly I stopped, sneezed, and launched the pasta into the air. I still remember the whitish noodle curled up against the black linoleum floor. We all laughed, and the “noodle sneeze” instantly became family lore.

As I grew older and repeated the story — either to distant relatives or perplexed friends — I started wondering how in the world my memorable moment was possible. When it happened, it was the morning. I had eaten spaghetti at night. Where was the noodle hidden during that whole time? Could it be the quintessential Italian thing to sneeze pasta? (I’m Italian.)

Simply, how does a noodle come out a nose?

Today, I Googled “sneezing noodles,” to see if anyone else shared my experience, and would you believe it, up popped all these videos of babies sneezing snotty noodles. They’re so cute and absolutely disgusting at the same time!

Now I wasn’t just investigating for myself. These cute babies deserved the truth, too.

Gif from Kyoot Kids’ video/YouTube

The reason why pasta sometimes exits through the nose is a great example of how peculiar — and gross — the human body is.

Though we all probably wished this wasn’t true, the nose and the mouth are connected. Whenever we swallow, the soft palate — the soft portion of the palate in the back our mouth — elevates and closes that connection. That keeps the food and water from going up our noses. At least, most of the time.

“If you’re drinking some soda and someone makes a really funny joke and you start laughing, I mean, it could potentially come out your nose,” says Chris Chang, an otolaryngologist in Warrenton, Virginia.

But in babies, the connection between the mouth and the nose is not closed while they eat. And that’s because babies, in the first few months of their lives, can’t breathe through their mouths. They can only breathe through their noses. As a result, unlike adults, babies can breathe and swallow at the same time. They can also more easily get food stuck up their noses because mouths and noses are connected.

Gif from AFV’s video/YouTube

“So if they happen to be eating a noodle, for example, and suddenly they sneeze, because the soft palate is in down position, things can potentially come out their nose,” Chang says.

I was six when this happened to me, so my soft palate should have already learned how to elevate and hermetically seal my nose. But in my case, Chang says, the noodle probably remained stuck behind my soft palate the whole night, where I couldn’t swallow it down. So when I sneezed the morning after, it came out of my nose, through the air, and down onto the airport floor.

Ten years later, I have my answer. I’m just glad these YouTube babies won’t have to wait.

Gif from AFV’s video/YouTube

Swallowing Disorders | Columbia University Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery

If you frequently experience the feeling of taking more time and effort to move food or liquid from your mouth to your stomach, you may have a swallowing disorder called dysphagia. Dysphagia may also be accompanied by pain when swallowing.

Occasional difficulty swallowing, which may occur when you eat or drink too quickly or when you don’t chew your food well enough, is not cause for concern. However, persistent dysphagia may indicate a serious medical condition requiring treatment. Dysphagia can occur at any age but is more common in older adults. The causes of swallowing disorders vary, and treatments vary depending on the cause.

What are the symptoms of a swallowing disorder?

• Pain while swallowing (odynophagia)
• Inability to swallow
• Sensation of food getting stuck in your throat or chest
• Drooling
• Regurgitation (bringing food back up)
• Frequent heartburn
• Food or stomach acid which backs up into your throat
• Unexpected weight loss
• Coughing or gagging when swallowing
• Needing to cut food into smaller pieces
• Avoiding certain foods because of trouble swallowing

If you have been experiencing difficulty swallowing liquids or solids daily for more than 2-4 weeks, you should make an appointment with a specialist.

What causes a swallowing disorder?

Swallowing is complex, and a number of conditions can interfere with this process. Sometimes the cause of dysphagia cannot be identified. Most of the time, dysphagia can be identified as esophageal dysphagia or oropharyngeal dysphagia.

Causes of Esophageal Dysphagia

Esophageal dysphagia refers to the sensation of food sticking in the base of your throat or in your chest after you’ve started to swallow. Some (but not all) of the causes of esophageal dysphagia are:

• Achalasia: When your lower esophageal muscle (sphincter) doesn’t relax properly to let food enter your stomach, it may cause you to bring food back up into your throat.
• Esophageal dysmotility: Once you swallow, the food moves through the esophagus through a series of well-timed contractions.  Sometimes, these become irregular or even absent. The food may not move through the esophagus correctly, resulting in the sensation of pressure in the chest or food sticking in the throat.
• Esophageal Stricture: A narrowed esophagus (stricture) can trap large pieces of food. Tumors or scar tissue, often caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), can cause narrowing.
• Esophageal Tumor: If an esophageal tumor is present, swallowing tends to become progressively more difficult.
• Foreign Bodies: Sometimes food or another object can partially block your throat or esophagus (though this is rare). Older adults with dentures and people who have difficulty chewing their food may be more likely to have a piece of food become lodged in the throat or the esophagus.
• Esophageal Ring: A thin area of narrowing in the lower esophagus that can intermittently cause difficulty swallowing solid foods.
• Cricopharyngeal muscle dysfunction: The cricopharyngeus is the muscle that serves as the entryway into the esophagus.  This must relax enough for food to pass through when you swallow.   Sometimes, this muscle remains tight during swallowing, or cannot relax enough to allow all of your food to pass through.  You may feel like some foods stick in your throat, or are very difficult to swallow.
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): Damage to the esophageal tissues from stomach acid backing up into your esophagus can lead to spasm or scarring and narrowing of your lower esophagus.
• Eosinophilic Esophagitis: This condition is caused by an overpopulation of cells called eosinophils in the esophagus and can cause effortful swallowing.
• Radiation Therapy: This type of cancer treatment can lead to inflammation and scarring of the esophagus.
• Zenker’s Diverticulum: An esophageal pouch that develops in the upper esophagus can cause debilitating dysphagia and regurgitation of food. When patients attempt to swallow, food can get caught in the zenker’s diverticulum rather than heading down into the stomach.

Causes of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is characterized by difficulty with timing the movement of food and liquids from your mouth to your throat and esophagus when you start to swallow. If you have oropharyngeal dysphagia, you may experience choking, gagging, or coughing when swallowing. You may have the sensation of liquids and/or solids “going down the wrong pipe” (going into the airway) or going up into the nose. Frequent episodes of liquids/solids going into the airway may lead to pneumonia. Some (but not all) of the causes of oropharyngeal dysphagia are:

• Neurological disorders: Neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis can weaken the swallowing musculature, making oropharyngeal dysphagia a concern.
• Neurological damage: Sudden neurological damage, such as a stroke or brain or spinal cord injury can affect your body’s ability to coordinate the swallow, leading to oropharyngeal dysphagia.
• Cancer and tumors: Depending on their location, some types of cancer and tumors can cause oropharyngeal dysphagia.
• Radiation: Following radiation for some cancers, specifically those that are supraglottic (i.e. pharyngeal cancer, tonsilar cancer, base of tongue cancer), you may experience oropharyngeal dysphagia, because the radiation frequently causes stiffness to the swallowing musculature.
• Age: As you get older, you may experience a weakening of the swallowing musculature, which for some people can lead to difficulty maintaining appropriate timing of swallowing.

How is a swallowing disorder diagnosed?

If you are having difficulty swallowing solids or liquids, your doctor will ask you about your symptoms. He or she will probably perform or refer you for two or more of the following tests:

Flexible laryngoscopy: This test is used to view the structures of the larynx (throat).   A small flexible camera is passed through the nasal passage, through the nasopharynx (the connection between the nose and throat), and down into the throat.  A topical anesthetic (numbing medication) is used for maximum comfort during the examination.  The examination takes around 1 – 2 minutes and is not painful.

Modified barium swallow study (MBS): This test is used to view your swallowing process. You will be asked to swallow a variety of barium-coated substances, such as liquid, applesauce, and a graham cracker. Barium is a whitish paste that allows the substances to light up under an X-ray so the examiner can determine how these substances are moving through your mouth, pharynx, and esophagus.

Flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES): FEES is an instrumental examination of swallowing that allows the examiner to view food and liquid as it passes through the throat. In order to view the swallow, a small flexible laryngoscopy is performed (as described above).   While visualizing the throat through the laryngoscope, a variety of foods and liquids are eaten and drank.  During this examination, no radiation exposure is necessary. In contrast to the MBS, which does involve a small amount of radiation exposure, this test cannot be used to evaluate the oral and esophageal phases and cannot view the precise moment of aspiration.  Therefore, this test is not appropriate for all dysphagia complaints.

Esophageal manometry: This test is used to show whether your esophagus is working properly. The esophagus is a long, muscular tube that connects the throat to the stomach. An esophageal manometry measures the rhythmic muscle contractions that occur in your esophagus when you swallow. It also measures the coordination and force exerted by the muscles of your esophagus. During this test, a thin, flexible tube (catheter) that contains sensors is passed through your nose, down your esophagus, and into your stomach. Your throat and nose will be numbed for this test. During the test, you will be asked to take small sips of water, and swallow on command.

How do you treat a swallowing disorder?

Depending on the type and severity of dysphagia that you are experiencing, treatments can vary greatly. The most important things your doctor will consider when determining treatment are nourishment and risk of pneumonia or other pulmonary infections. Treatments for dysphagia may include (but are not limited to):

• Dysphagia therapy: Exercises and strategies are provided by a speech and language pathologist to help strengthen the muscles of swallowing, re-coordinate the timing of your swallow, and encourage a safe and effective swallow. This is typically only best for patients with oral or oropharyngeal dysphagia and does not work for esophageal related dysphagias.
• Diet modifications: Various diet modifications may be recommended depending on your specific type of dysphagia. These may include thickening liquids, eating purees, etc. This is highly individualized.
• Esophageal Dilation: If you have a tight esophageal sphincter or an esophageal stricter, your doctor may perform a procedure to stretch or dilate the esophagus.
• Medical management: Some mild dysphagias can be caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and these can be treated with reflux medications.
• Feeding Tube: In most severe cases, a swallowing disorder can lead to an inability to eat or drink completely or not enough to maintain proper nutrition. In these cases, a feeding tube is placed.
• Botox Injection: If you have cricopharyngeal muscle dysfunction where the muscle will not relax enough to let food pass into the esophagus, Botox can be injected to essentially inhibit the muscle contraction.
• Surgery: Minimally invasive surgical techniques such as an endoscopic cricopharyngeal myotomy or Zenker’s divericulectomy can be performed in an office setting while the patient is awake, instead of in an operating room under anesthesia.   

Complications of a swallowing disorder

Dysphagia can be frustrating because it takes the joy out of eating and drinking. It can also lead to more severe complications such as malnutrition, weight-loss, and dehydration. In addition, if you are aspirating (having liquids or solids enter the airway while swallowing), respiratory problems can occur such as pneumonia, bronchitis, or other upper respiratory infections.

Conditions we treat

What to do when your child has something stuck up their nose

Young children’s curiosity can sometimes lead them to experiment with just what can fit up their nose.

Every year, emergency departments around Queensland handle about 220 visits from patients with a foreign object lodged up their nose. Usually they’re small kids and toddlers, whose natural curiosity got the better of them, leading them to experiment with the idea of what fits where.

The objects collected are pretty diverse: game pieces, bits of play dough, pebbles and dirt, wadded up bits of tissue, small batteries, bits of food, or decorative beads. Even the most vigilant parent will struggle to keep their toddler away from every hazard, and when it happens it can cause considerable anxiety.

So what should you do if you find out your child has shoved something up a nostril? There are a few things you can try at home before heading to the emergency department, and a couple of things that should definitely be avoided.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know if your kid has something up their nose.

How to tell if there’s something up your child’s nose

Children commonly get objects stuck up their nose between the ages of one and three, and they aren’t always aware or willing to let you know that it has occurred. There are a couple of warning signs that something is stuck up the nose including:

• a constantly running nose, particularly if it’s only from one nostril
• nose bleeds
• tenderness or pain around the nose
• complaints about a weird smell when no-one else can smell anything
• whistling noises when they breathe through the nose
• or breathing difficulty.

What to avoid

Don’t panic. This is could be a stressful experience, particularly if it’s the first time it’s happened to your child, but it’s important to keep your cool.Having something stuck in the nose isn’t life threatening unless it’s causing trouble breathing. Usually, the main concern is infection due to the blocked nasal fluids.

Don’t try and remove the object with cotton buds or cotton balls. These can push the object deeper into the nasal passage, which will only make things worse.

Don’t try and remove the object with your fingers. Just like the cotton swabs, your fingers are a blunt instrument when more delicate tool is needed. Don’t risk pushing the object deeper.

Don’t try and suck the object out with a vacuum cleaner. Less likely to push the object deeper in than the previous options, but it’s the wrong tool for this particular job.

Don’t make it a big deal. Your response to this event can go a long way towards avoiding repeat performances. If your toddler knows they can provoke a strong reaction by sticking something in their nose, they’ll be tempted to do so again. More importantly, if they do get something stuck up there again, you don’t want them to be afraid to tell you.

What you should do

Step 1: Check what the object is, if possible

Ask your child to tell you what’s stuck up there, if they can. Most objects are not immediately serious, but if it’s a button battery or anything containing toxic chemicals, head straight to the emergency department. These can cause serious damage in a matter of hours if not removed.

If you don’t know what’s stuck up there, assume that it’s an emergency rather than working your way through this list.

Step 2: Calm your child down and get them to breathe through their mouth

Anyone who remembers their last head-cold can tell you our natural response to a blocked nose is to sniff. That’s a bad idea right now. If your child is panicking, particularly if there are tears, there’s also a natural tendency to sniffle that could suck the blockage deeper into the nose.

Calm them down as quickly as possible, while trying to stay calm yourself. Give them a hug and tell them there’s nothing to worry about. Remind your child to breathe through their mouth, rather than their nose, and monitor their breathing if they’re still young enough that they’ll give in to their natural instinct to sniff.

Step 3: Sit them up and lean them forward

It will be tempting to lie the child down, to make it easier to manage the following steps. Try to avoid that – instead sit them up, leaning forward to help with breathing and giving gravity a chance to help all it can.

Step 4: Do a visual check for the blockage

Check your patient’s nose and try to spot the blockage. Don’t get fancy with this – if you can’t see it, don’t go searching for a torch to try and get a better look. You’re just doing a simple visual check of both nostrils.

If you can see the object, you can try the next two options on this list. If not, skip straight to getting medical help from your GP.

Step 5: Block the other nostril and blow

If you know which nostril the object is lodged in, try blocking the other nostril and getting them to blow it out. If they’re a toddler, lead them through the steps, reminding them to breathe in through their mouth before blowing out through their nose. If this doesn’t work, move on to the next step rather than making multiple attempts.

Step 6: Try to gently remove the object with blunt tweezers

The key words here are gentle and blunt. Only try this if you can see the object, it’s sufficiently large, and you stand a reasonable chance of being able to hold onto it with the tweezers. Try to avoid this with smaller objects, where there’s a chance of pushing the object further into the nose.

Step 7: See your doctor

If the object hasn’t been dislodged, it’s time to see your GP who will be able to help further. Remember, if your child is having trouble breathing or you think they have a battery or item containing toxic chemicals, you should head to the emergency department straight away.

90,000

Yesterday (because of laughter while eating) a melon got in my nose. And got stuck in …

Chopchu: quackery or healing?

Chopchu is a woman elevated in Azerbaijan to the rank of a folk healer, whose vocation is to blow from people, mainly children under 5 years old, pieces of stuck food or carelessly swallowed objects, which are called “chop”.Hence the name. We were unable to find out when the first chopchas appeared. All respondents referred us to the time of “dede-babadan” (* fathers and grandfathers *).

as transfers AZE.az, the portal urban.az writes about this.

Chopchu services are one of the primordial Azerbaijani traditions. Chop is blown in a very non-trivial way: first, the chopchu massages the “victim’s” throat, and then blows forcefully into her nose. At this very time, various objects begin to fly out of the “patient’s” mouth, often in such quantities that if you don’t stop the chopcha, it seems that Gagarin himself will fly out of the throat of a 5-year-old child, shouting “Let’s go” and wave his hand.

We collected testimonies from people who visited chopcha, doctors’ comments, and even decided on a bold experiment: visiting chopcha with a request to “blow out chop”.

BLOW? ..

Nathavan Sun : I didn’t know that this existed at all until I got married. When my son’s temperature rose to 40 at the age of 1 and lasted for 10 days, the doctor prescribed antibiotics, we did it for 5 days, and the gaynata (* father-in-law *) said: we need to go to chopchu. I asked what kind of bird it was. They took him to one, she blew him “seasonal” – apple scraps, but we didn’t eat apples, I laughed and left.Then he found gaynata: it was necessary to go somewhere far, she was blowing not in his mouth, but parallel to his nose, and a half-rotted stuff fell out of his mouth, and there were clearly visible small triangular pyramids of nuts, and I remembered what a couple weeks before, a neighbor treated me to some imported cookies, and I gave it to my son in milk. I remember these pyramids well. And I was very surprised: the temperature dropped by the end of the day, but we didn’t take him to the chopchu anymore. We just watched closely what we eat.

Irina Shakhbazova : I also drove my daughter to Montino near the metro, the child was already suffocating; wherever we have turned, all to no purpose; and as soon as she blew out a tiny detail from our own designer for her daughter, she immediately felt better, and after a couple of minutes she fell asleep, and slept for almost a day … but I still try to bypass these chopchas.

Victoria Shvetsova : Honestly, I’m not a chopcha lover, BUT there was a case with my nephew. My sister has 4 children, all are normal, he alone is wonderful. In general, he was about 3 years old, he probably had a fever, vomiting, diarrhea. My sister, the head nurse at the polyclinic, immediately dragged me to the hospital in the morning; the doctor looked: the throat was clean, the tonsils were not inflamed, she listened: there were no wheezing, the lungs were clean. We thought that a microbe, such as E. coli or something like that, was checked – no. And the child has a stable temperature of 38 all this time.5, diarrhea, no appetite, what to eat – immediately pulls out. For 3 days the doctors tortured him, they didn’t find a nifig, there was no longer any strength, the child wasted away, we couldn’t do anything. A neighbor came to visit, saw him, immediately said: he needs to go to chopcha. My sister was already ready for anything, if only the child would feel better (and, by the way, before this incident, we did not even know who these chopchi were). In general, they dragged him, there some old woman massaged his throat, where the tonsils and where the Adam’s apple, as if rubbed for 3 minutes, then somehow blew him and a gruel flew out of the child’s nose, there were chicken cartilages inside, and some other disgusting.You probably won’t believe it, but immediately after 10 minutes the temperature dropped to 36.6, the diarrhea disappeared and the child asked to eat. I don’t know how to explain this, how they do it, but it really helped, although I am not a supporter of all these methods. All children are fine, but he is constantly: as he eats something (seeds or chicken), the temperature rises, and then they lead to chopcha and she blows out exactly what he ate. She said that it happens up to 10 years, well, here’s a year left to wait, we’ll see. If I had not seen all this with my own eyes, I would not have believed it, well, something like this …

Nara Poladova : You can shower me with tomatoes, but I still believe in them))) moreover, neither in my childhood, nor did I ever take my children to a chopchu.And I always made fun of people who literally prayed for chopcha. But over the past three years, I myself have already contacted them 5 times. I am an adult and, unlike a child, I know what I ate, at what moment I felt discomfort, I can clearly describe my condition. So, this grandmother “took out” pieces of exactly the product that I choked on. Inexplicable but the fact! P.S. I do not campaign or advertise anyone.

… OR NOT BLOW?

Manusha Maksumova : I first heard about chopcha in Az-no (at that time it was 5 months of our stay here).The child was ill, fever, vomiting. Night. Mother-in-law is taking us to a chopchu, which I have no idea about. I didn’t really understand the explanations, but I insist on civilian treatment. The mother-in-law begs me all the way to listen to her “if I respect her at least a little,” I agree, but only in order to be convinced for herself and to convince the others. Have arrived. Some kind of grandmother came out. I blew somewhere (either in my mouth, or in my nose), which made me even more shocked, THIS IS ANTI-SANITARY !!!!! ”blew out“ an apple, by the way … And “promised that there would be no more pace !!! ”….arrived home (I was in a state of disgust, as if they were bathing in mud, God forgive me !!!) An hour later the child became ill, the same symptoms. Mother-in-law is shocked “how so ?! Chopchu is omnipotent !!! And it didn’t help ?! ”… .. and it wouldn’t help !!!!!

We were admitted to the infectious diseases hospital – intestinal infection. Stofilakkok. After adequate treatment, the child came to his senses … and no chopchu will help here! As well as in general!

Vafa Neymatova : I don’t believe !!! Once I took my son to the chopcha, horror, she pulled out what my child does not eat at all.

Alina Fd : I have it too. And generally disgusting. A stranger to the child’s mouth and nose blowing.

Farida Ozkan Azizova : Fu. I disdain to drink from someone else’s glass, and I do not allow my mother-in-law to give from her spoon to her child, and then some grandmother will blow into my child’s mouth with her smelly mouth. Be. In life, I disagree. I will go around all the lore in the country, find that very competent one and solve the problem. NO antihygiene !!!! Those who take their children away in the fall must come out with tangerines or oranges, in the summer – grape seeds or whatever, and so on, there is also a piece of bread or piece of paper.

Hairs S M How : I have a very negative attitude towards chopcha and always said that I would not take my child to them. A daughter was born and thank God, for her 12 years I have never remembered chopchu… .. But…. In me, in an adult dildo, food began to get stuck in the nasopharynx. Rice, seeds, nuts, etc. True, there was no temperature, but she caused vomiting to clear the nasopharynx. And suddenly I was advised to drink “Tonsilgon – N” and a miracle happened, nothing else gets stuck. It was like a residual phenomenon after a cold, and recently after another cold, everything started to get stuck again, I drink Tonsilgon and I am happy.

Mexriban Aliyeva : When my son was about 1.5, he started having a severe suffocating cough. There were no other symptoms. We then lived with our father-in-law in the house (we were renovating). So after another such cough, the mother-in-law and the father-in-law decided that we urgently needed to go to the chopchu)), to be honest, he coughed so much that I didn’t care that I didn’t believe in chopchu. And even more so, several relatives have already been buzzing with their stories related to chopchu. In short, we went to Sahiba, who has a house on a hill.All the way, the child coughed terribly. She blew it into his nose or mouth, I still didn’t understand. She pulled out a cucumber and something else, I did not have time to make out, as she quickly threw it away. When we left her, the son no longer coughed and did not cough all night. I was very grateful to her. Only in the morning it all started again. Then I already grabbed the child and with the words “enough of these chopchu from us”, went with my husband to the OMD to the ENT. She said that his throat was all sore. She prescribed treatment and everything went without a trace.

* Comments taken from the discussion on chopchu in the Medprosvet group.

HOW DO THEY DO IT?

The moment has come for our bold experiment, which we delayed as best we could. And so, we are in front of the “Cactus” restaurant in the Yasamal district, where we were sent by caring commentators on social networks.

We stop near the store and contact the seller:

– Where does the chopchu live here?
– To the left, the second entrance and to the hostel on the third floor. Namik (* referring to a child of about 10 years old *), see him off.
A woman with a baby in her arms just jumped out of the chopchu door. Chopchu looked at us and said shortly:
– Bring the child.
I whispered in confusion:
– There is no child … I myself have something stuck, I can’t breathe.
– What’s stuck?
– I don’t know …
– Sit down, – she pointed to a chair in the doorway of the chopchu and went into the room.

Returned a couple of minutes later. I looked at her meticulously, for I was warned that fraudsters are hiding in their sleeves what they have to blow out. But no, the “chopche” was wearing a sundress with wide straps and no pockets.Chopchu began to massage my throat with force. There was a feeling that I was being strangled, and before my death I decided to believe in chopcha, because the massage was really professional. And then she … told me to open my mouth, brought her face to mine and blew into my nose. Immediately there was a sound, as if a cherry pit fell to the floor and rolled. By the way, we never found this bone later. I feverishly tried to realize how a bone could fly through my larynx without me feeling it. But there is more.A piece of boiled chicken flew onto the napkin, clutched in the hands of a chopcha … There could be no doubt about quackery, because:

I hate boiled chicken.
I very rarely eat meat at all and the last time I ate chicken lavangi was a week before visiting the “healer”.
chicken looked absolutely fresh, just chewed.
I didn’t have the hateful taste of boiled chicken in my mouth, not a single microscopic piece of it.

And the most important thing: both I and the young man who came with me clearly heard the sound of a piece flying out of the mouth of the chopcha.This sound occurs when something passes through the lips folded into a tube. Further more: chopchu “blew out” from her own mouth a piece of apple, absolutely not darkened, not oxidized, and chewed crackers. By a lucky coincidence, I don’t really like apples either, and I ate apples a couple of days before what happened. But these did not even have time to oxidize! The secret turned out to be simple, and now I just humbly waited for the end of the execution, because the smell of chopcha was not the best. I sincerely felt sorry for the children whom caring parents force to go through this procedure.

Well, at the end of the day, chopchu named the price of my “miraculous healing” – 30 manats. “I take 10 manats from children,” she explained, seeing my puzzled look. In general, in order to find out the secret of chopchu, I had to fork out. And a little later, one of the commentators on our question about chopcha on the social network sent this video, where the deception was filmed on a hidden camera and is obvious in slow motion: pieces of food fly out of the woman’s mouth right onto the child’s face, which she is trying to cover with her body.

DOCTORS SAY:

Said Allakhverdiev , ENT doctor, candidate of medical sciences

The fact that food particles can get stuck in a person’s nasopharynx is not news. Food can actually get stuck there. Yes, sometimes the temperature can rise due to stuck food. This happens most often in children. But in most cases, after a while, this food independently passes further along the esophagus or necrotic, and the temperature returns to normal. ENTs often see patients with a similar problem and remove the stuck pieces from the nose and throat with sterile medical instruments.

In principle, due to the air pressure from the nose, they can be blown out.This is what chopcha is doing. I can’t say for sure that all Chopchu are charlatans. I cannot say that their work is wrong either. Among them there are those who can really help. But parents should think about what kind of danger they put the child, taking him to the chopchu. And if she has an open form of tuberculosis? This is quite possible, given the specifics of the “profession”, because a chopchu has 10-20 children a day.

But the fact that chop gets stuck in children under 5 years old, and then goes away – this is a myth. Children just eat carelessly, so their food gets stuck more often. Well, it is, of course, easier for charlatans to cheat chopcha by “pulling out” a non-existent chop from a child than from an adult.

It is also a myth that the chopchus are promised to “close the chop place” for a large reward. It’s just physiologically impossible.

The most interesting thing is that other peoples have no concept of “chopchu”. We have the same physiology – they also have “places”, the so-called “pockets”, where food can get stuck. But they use the services of doctors and do not put their children at risk.

Often we pull fish or chicken bones out of the larynx of patients, which stick into the mucous membrane and which cannot be removed by the chopchu. Foreign bodies that get stuck in the narrow nasal passages in children also need to be removed only under control, using an endoscope to avoid damage to the surrounding tissue. Chopchu in such cases can only harm, and the consequences will affect the child.
I recommend that people not take risks themselves and not put their children at risk.

Nargiz Hasanli , ENT doctor, Medilux clinic

Not only in children, but also in adults, pieces of food can get stuck in the larynx and create a feeling of heaviness in the throat.For example, this is often the case with chronic tonsillitis. It happens that during a conversation and a simultaneous meal, food is thrown into the nasopharynx. This can happen when inhaling, it can be when the muscle wall of the soft palate is weak, etc.
BUT! There is no “pocket” in the larynx, in which, according to the chopchu, food can constantly accumulate. It cannot be “closed”, as some chopchas promise, and it does not disappear when the child reaches 5 years of age. Yes, the anatomy of the nasopharynx and, in general, the pharynx in children is somewhat different from that of an adult.With age, it changes a little, as it were, stretched out. In childhood, adenoids are relevant. But medicine does not know any “pockets”, “bags” and other things.

Many parents say: “Why stuff a child with medicine? I’d better go to the chopchu and in a second he will feel better. ” If you are lucky enough to get to a chop not a fraudster (and 99% of them are charlatans), she, of course, can take out a chop. But what kind of infection can she give to a child? I know of a case when a chopchu, to which there were queues, was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Can you imagine how many people, especially children, contracted an open form of tuberculosis from her?

At the first suspicion that you or your child has something stuck in the nasopharynx, it is necessary to be examined by a doctor and identify the reasons why this happened. If simply because of a mechanical action (conversation while eating, careless inhalation, childish curiosity), then a professional ENT doctor will simply pull out the “chop”. If the cause is a disease, then you will need to undergo a course of treatment.

Or go to the chopchu at least once a month. Usually, this is how scammers and charlatans “put” their victims on a constant “chop”, provoked, in fact, by a throat disease that needs to be treated.

Natalia Panova (Moscow), doctor of the highest category, ENT cryologist

I have been working in my field for many years, but I have never heard of this type of traditional medicine. This is some kind of nonsense.

Children have really narrow nasal passages in which a foreign object (food or something else) can get stuck.But they must be extracted by a specialist. In no case should you blow anything out of the nose – the object can get into the lower respiratory tract, and the child will simply suffocate. Not to mention, it is unsanitary and the child is at risk of contracting an infection! Only specialists! Otherwise, you can do very much harm.

RESULTS OF THE BAKA EXPERIMENT

So, we found out that chopchu, as a representative of traditional medicine, has a right to exist. BUT:

1.most of them are charlatans.
2. Even a “professional” conscientious chopcha exposes “patients” to the risk of contracting various infections (ranging from the banal flu and ending with tuberculosis), because by virtue of the profession it is in the risk zone, as well as the risk of damage to the respiratory tract.

AFTERWORD

This is how the houses of some Chopchas look like:

And here is another house in which a chopcha named Afet still agreed to tell us a little about herself:

True, I did not dare to take a picture.

An adult patient who came to the appointment at that moment asked:

– Push or Push?
– That is, how? – I did not understand.
– I can massage and get stuck food out through the esophagus. And I can blow it out. Better inward – if outward, the throat can be injured.
– Let’s go inside, – the patient decided.

And chopchu, while doing massage, told:

My mother taught me this. She was a very skillful healer. When she died, our entire village was crying.We used to live in Karabakh, then we came here as refugees. This ability to heal is usually passed on from generation to generation. Here is my daughter-in-law Malakhet, from Lerik, a healer. She sets bones for people, can raise the stomach when lowering, solve problems with the spine. Her mother also taught her, and that one was her grandmother. And there are many charlatans, yes. Do not believe if they tell you that the “chop” can be closed. There is no such thing. It’s just that the scammers came up with the idea to rake in more money. And people believe. Then if the chop hits again, they throw up their hands, they say, it didn’t work out, you yourself did something wrong.How many of these come to me later. And if it doesn’t get it, they point a finger and say: I closed it! You just need to take care of yourself: chew food thoroughly, do not speak while eating, beware of the cold. Give small pieces of food to children, make sure that nothing is stuffed into the mouth or nose. And everything will be fine. And the fact that it happens in children only up to 5 years old is also a fairy tale. This is me, chopchu, I tell you.

At this time, the chopchu broke off and blew forcefully into the patient’s nose. Five times. She coughed. Chopchu gave her water and a napkin.
– How is it? Did you feel something?
– Yes, the lump went inside the esophagus. And here’s something to my mouth … – the patient replied, spitting …

https://youtu.be/QVFkS2EeVsc

What to do if food enters the windpipe?

This can happen to anyone. Everyone has experienced that unpleasant moment when a lot of people are sitting at the table, and food or drink has gone “in the wrong throat.” More often than not, clearing your throat is enough to stop this incident.
But what to do if within a few minutes it does not get better, neither inhalation nor exhalation is possible, the face changes color? Others rush to the rescue with a desire to pat on the back.

Now let’s imagine: the victim is sitting at a table, the torso is almost vertical, a foreign body is stuck in the airway. Where does it go when you slap it on the back? That’s right – down the airways. Such actions are dangerous, can aggravate the situation and even lead to death.
What is the right way to act in such situations? Opinions are conflicting. Let’s turn to the textbook on first aid.

In the section on the ingress of a foreign body into the respiratory tract, recommendations are given: put the victim on his stomach over the knee of the person providing first aid, and hit him on the back.

And not a word about the Heimlich method, which is described in many articles as the only effective one when food gets into the respiratory tract.Western cinematography is also actively promoting this technique to us.

The question arises, what method should a person providing first aid use, when every lost second can lead the victim to death?

For help in clarification, we go to emergency doctor .

– If a person chokes, in what cases are blows to the back, and in what cases Heimlich’s technique?

– In some cases, tapping on the back can provoke the dislocation of a foreign body even lower into the respiratory tract.The lower it is from the vocal cords, the more pronounced the degree of asphyxia (suffocation). Ambulance workers are encouraged to act in such a situation in accordance with a normative act that clearly regulates manipulations with the victim.

1. We start with tapping (patting, striking between the shoulder blades). Only it must be performed correctly, so as not to harm: give the victim’s torso a position with an inclination forward and inflict 5 blows between the shoulder blades.The mechanism of this technique is associated with the fact that we induce stimulation and enhancement of the cough reflex, which increases the expiratory pressure in the airways. This is necessary for self-removal of a foreign body from the respiratory tract.

2. The second stage in case of ineffective patting is the execution of Heimlich’s technique . The victim must be tilted forward, stand behind him, put a folded hand in a fist in the area between the navel and the sternum, clasp the other hand and make 5 sharp jerks in the direction of inward and upward.

3. If it does not help, we start all over again: 5 blows on the back in the correct body position, then the Heimlich technique.
Heimlich’s reception differs in pregnant women, children, and also in persons who are unconscious.

Pregnant produce shocks in the chest area.

In case a person has lost consciousness , you need to put him on his back, make sure that the head is not turned to the side.It is more convenient to sit on it from above and in the area between the navel and the xiphoid process of the sternum to make the same shocks as if the rescuer was standing behind, in this case use your weight.

If a child chokes, you cannot hesitate. In children, the mucous membrane is very delicate, and swelling rapidly increases. In a matter of minutes, edema from grade 1 turns into grade 4 and hypoxic coma. You need to immediately call an ambulance or go to the nearest hospital on your own.While waiting for an ambulance, you cannot stay idle. Provide as much air as possible, clean the mouth and nasal passages from mucus with a rubber can (syringe) or a syringe with a dropper tube. Since there may be reflex vomiting, it is necessary to give a stable lateral position. In children’s practice, it is not always advised to start with tapping. If done incorrectly, it can lead to lung rupture or foreign body dislocation.
However, it is no coincidence that the order for ambulance workers spelled out a sequence of actions, starting with blows to the back. This is due to its high efficiency when done correctly. I can say that if you decide to hit the interscapular region of the child, you need to be careful.

The child is given the following position:

If these actions are ineffective, turn the child onto his back, with his head lower than the body.Give 5 thrusts inward and toward the chest, below the nipples, with one finger. You can do this with one or both hands.

If there is no one around to help, you can independently help yourself with a modified Heimlich trick. The point is that the victim independently reproduces the above-described tremors in the epigastric region (a).Or uses the means at hand: the back of a chair, the corner of the table, etc. (b)

Be attentive, try not to rush and not be distracted by conversations at the table. Remain calm and follow these steps clearly if you or someone close to you choke.

Author: Ekaterina Solovieva

Please note that the information presented on the site is for informational and educational purposes and is not intended for self-diagnosis and self-medication. The choice and prescription of drugs, treatment methods, as well as control over their use can only be carried out by the attending physician. Be sure to consult with a specialist.

Zenker’s diverticulum – where there is a place in the throat where food always gets stuck

.. Doctors cannot establish the reasons , shrug their hands (and legs)

Hello !!! Please tell me, there is no strength to fight this !!! afraid to breathe! THE SYMPTOMS ARE: Something interferes in the throat, at first it was on the left side, now somewhere at the base of the tongue! I try to swallow it does not work! There is a fear that I will suffocate! I sleep badly because of this, I fall asleep in the morning! Has recovered sharply, now has lost weight! I eat a little, appathy for everything !! This is already very scary for me for the second month! I went to 2 ENT doctors, said nothing! , – Anya (did the doctors move their hands apart?)

Zenker’s diverticulum

Pharyngeal-esophageal diverticula are among the rarest (3-5%). They are usually pulsating. Zenker’s diverticula (Endoscopic treatment, video) are usually detected at the age of 40 – 60 years. moreover, in men 2 – 3 times more often than in women, due to the large size of their laryngopharynx.

With Zenker’s diverticula of the esophagus, dysphagia develops early – a difficult passage of both solid and liquid food through the esophagus. Food debris accumulates in the diverticulum, which is accompanied by regurgitation of undigested food, an unpleasant odor from the oral cavity.

Once the doctors spread their arms and legs ..

“.. took a stainless steel tube 15cm. and the left side in the throat. Several pieces flew out again. Now I do it in the morning, after breakfast and in the evening before bed. After the first flush, the throat was uncomfortable. But the sensation of swallowing something stuck in the throat was gone. For several days now I feel comfortable! ”

You can make the device as in the photo. With its help, pieces of food stuck in the tonsils get out. It is made from a piece of copper wire. The length is about 10 centimeters, the diameter of the ring is 2-3 millimeters.

AND HERE THE DOCTORS (arms and legs apart) RUNNED TO THE SICK :

And this happened. It was not an operation, but almost a vivisection. Anything bad that could have happened happened . Repeated bleeding, stitches in the throat, scars on the ligaments, severe intoxication from suppuration of wounds, he could not leave the operating room himself or go to the toilet – he lost consciousness.One of the hardest sore throats in my life.
The most tragic thing – I lost my singing voice, – nedlend

Experience in using endoscopic methods treatment of Zenker’s diverticulum (balloon dilatation or dissection of the fibers of the lower portion of the cricopharyngeal muscle) with good results is available in the General Surgery Clinic of the St. Petersburg State Medical Pediatric Academy on the basis of St. Petersburg State Healthcare Institution “City Mariinsky Hospital”.

Moscow ENT doctors removed a cherry bone from the patient’s nose, which was stuck there 70 years ago

A patient of 80 years old applied to the Consultative and Diagnostic Department of the Institute of Otorhinolaryngology.Sverzhevsky with a formation in the nasal cavity detected on CT – the picture was taken during treatment at the dentist.

At the same time, the patient herself did not present any complaints, but throughout her life the patient had regular mucopurulent discharge from the nose, which she did not attach importance to.

Doctors examined the patient and ordered surgery. Under the control of endoscopic technique under local anesthesia, the mass was found and removed from the nasal cavity. It turned out to be rhinolith – a calculus or stone formed as a result of the deposition of phosphate and carbonate calcium salts from the nasal mucus around a foreign body that has entered the nose.

As it turned out, the core of the rhinolitis extracted from the patient was a cherry pit. The patient did not remember the very fact of getting a bone in the nose, but assumed that it had happened in childhood. The bone was in the nasal cavity for a long time and, although it did not cause any inconvenience to the patient, it was a focus of chronic purulent inflammation and made it difficult to breathe through the nose.

After the rhinolitis was removed, the patient, within a few days, felt an improvement in nasal breathing to an extent that she had not previously suspected.

Usually, parents of young children face a problem such as a foreign body in the nose. ENT doctors in such cases advise not to try to pull out a foreign body on your own and urgently consult a specialist.

The symptoms of rhinolitis are similar to many inflammatory diseases of the nose and methods such as rhinoscopy, endoscopy, radiography or computed tomography are used for diagnosis.

The danger of foreign objects in the nasal cavity is that if a foreign body moves deeper into the nasal cavity, into the nasopharynx, it can enter the respiratory tract and esophagus, leading to difficulty breathing and swallowing.They also become a focus of inflammation, causing chronic sinusitis, destroy the walls of the nasal cavity and can lead to nosebleeds and perforation of the nasal septum.

With timely diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis is favorable. Removal of a foreign body will completely remove all the manifestations and symptoms that bother the patient.

Food stuck in the esophagus. What to do if food is stuck between teeth

A person always experiences discomfort if food is stuck between his teeth.And this is at least, and if there is damage to the enamel, pain may also occur.
With the normal arrangement of the dentition, the lateral surfaces of the teeth are in close contact. The point of contact is called the contact point. Its purpose is to protect the gingival papilla from injury that could be caused by food when it is chewed.

But in practice, tight contact is broken quite often. Jammed food is nothing more than a symptom of a violation of the tight contact of adjacent teeth with each other.Contact is broken for a variety of reasons, and this article covers the most common ones. Not only the problem will be explained, but also the ways to solve it.

Below is a list of reasons for food getting stuck between the teeth:

• Oversized contour of the prosthesis;
• Cement not removed by the dentist, squeezed out by the crown;
• Errors at the stage of manufacturing the intermediate part of the bridge, when the shape of the prosthesis does not match the anatomy of the patient’s oral cavity.
• The edges of poorly made crowns overhang the gum.
• Poor filling. If the edges of the filling are overhanging, the dentist has poorly formed the anatomical shape. The presence of pores in the filling material on the lateral surface of the tooth leads to the absence of a contact point.
• The gingival papilla is absent. Its purpose is to fill the space between the teeth so that food does not accumulate in this area.
• Caries. As soon as a carious cavity forms on the lateral part of the tooth, food residues are immediately collected in it.Cleaning them out is not easy at all.
• Dental calculus formed above and below the gum. They are called “subgingival” and “supragingival”. These are solid deposits that trap food.
• Gaps between the teeth. In the dictionary of the dentist, diastemas and tremas are distinguished. Solid food stuck in them is extracted by means of cleansing threads. Soft food can be removed with a regular rinse.
• Oblique and uneven position of the teeth, their crowding.

Caries between teeth is caries that forms on the interdental surfaces of the teeth.Most often in people who do not know what dental floss is, and do not have the habit of cleaning the interdental spaces from food debris.

Effects of food stuck between teeth

The result of permanent jamming is that the teeth lose their hardness.

Important! Food is between the teeth for a long time, while their enamel is damaged, and periodontal pockets are formed. They open up direct access to various infections, which leads to gum abscess.×

And there is a negative progression in this problem. Food penetrates further into the pocket, deepening it, and the bone is affected.
Caries occurs when food gets stuck between adjacent teeth. It doesn’t show up right away. And the treatment is complicated by poor access to the lesion site. The damage caused by stuck food is irreversible. Not only the tooth suffers, but also the tissues supporting it. If not treated, then its destruction and removal cannot be avoided. When stuck food is left in your mouth for a long time, it can ferment and cause an unpleasant odor.

Periodontal pocket is a space formed as a result of destruction of the periodontal junction and circular ligament of the tooth, as well as resorption of bone tissue and alveolar walls.

How to solve a problem without a doctor?

The first thing that comes to mind for a person experiencing discomfort from stuck food between their teeth is the use of toothpicks. Dentists strongly recommend excluding their use in everyday practice. These helpers can seriously injure the gums and accelerate the loosening of stuck food.

Attention! The best way to remove food debris in these cases is flossing. If you can see on sale a wide thread with the presence of wax, then it is better to purchase it. She will help out well at a party. ×

An irrigator will help you more effectively at home. It perfectly flushes out the remains of food in the mouth. When a person already has gingival pockets, the irrigator will become a lifelong assistant.
It is rightly said that you do not need to look after only those teeth that the surgeon removed.
The floss and brush are effective for making you feel better. But they don’t completely solve the problem. Re-stuck food between the teeth tells the patient that he needs to go to a dentist who not only fills, but also knows how to work with dentures.

Dental floss, also known as floss, is an additional oral hygiene product that is used to cleanse the interdental spaces and prevent tooth decay and periodontitis.

How is the problem corrected in the clinic?

The main thing in treatment is the correct formation of the contact point.
A wide variety of matrix systems and filling materials will assist in the successful treatment of caries. The filling must not only be placed, but also given the correct shape in order to achieve close contact in contact with the tooth next door.
If the food jam problem is caused by the overhanging edge of the filling, as the previous dentist gave it an irregular shape, then the filling is changed.Dentures of unsatisfactory quality are subject to replacement.
“Black triangles” and deep pockets are corrected by dental surgeons. There is no need for surgical intervention.
Dental crowding, thrombosis and diastema can be corrected with orthodontic therapy. In eliminating these flaws, it is better to go by the method of aesthetic restoration of teeth with crowns, veneers and fillings.
Dental calculus are removed in a special procedure using a professional method, followed by polishing of the roots.

Veneers are microprostheses that restore the aesthetic appearance of teeth, allow you to choose the color and shape of one or a group of teeth, and eliminate interdental spaces.

Do not be negligent in matters of oral health.

Attention! If food begins to get stuck between the teeth, then this is an indirect invitation to the dentist. Regular visits to the doctor for a preventive examination should be done at least once every 6 months. ×

Having received a free specialist consultation, the patient will find out whether there is a need for treatment or replacement of old fillings with new ones. It is good to do dental calculus removal by a professional method twice a year.
When choosing a treatment or prevention, you should not just go to an old and proven clinic. The staff there can change. The best thing is to know a tried and tested dentist.
To this day, there are still offices of free dental care. But the doctors who work there earn very little, which means that good specialists do not stay there. Quality materials are not received there due to lack of funds.
Do not save on your health! In case of complex problems with stuck food – contact a trusted clinic.

Sometimes it happens in a person that after eating, as if food gets into the nasopharynx. What to do in this case? This is the question that patients ask the doctor. One of the most vital functions that a person performs is his breathing. But no one thinks about how exactly a person inhales and exhales air. It’s great that people don’t have to keep this procedure under their own control. The human body is designed in such a way that most of the processes that take place in it are able to take place without our conscious intervention.

Inhaling fresh air, a person immediately pushes out of himself processed, that is – carbon dioxide. Does air enter the nasopharynx through the nostrils?

The nasopharynx is an empty area that is located at the level of the cheekbones in the human skull, and thanks to which the extensions of the nasal and oral cavities are connected.

Like any other organ or tissue in the human body, so the nasopharynx performs vital functions. Basically, the nasopharynx is responsible for:

• connecting function;
• warming;
• olfactory.

The structure of the nasopharynx and how and where it is located in the human body contributes to its functioning, the so-called connector. In other words, it connects the continuation of the oral cavity, namely the pharynx, together with the nasal sinuses. That is why each person can breathe freely through both mouth and nose. But if we take into account how a person should breathe correctly, then, of course, through the nose.

How does air warming take place?

A very important function for humans is to increase the temperature of the inhaled air.This reason is one of the main reasons why a person should breathe through his nose. The fact is that cold air (especially in the winter period) can easily irritate the respiratory tract of a person. Thanks to this factor, people get sick with colds, and sometimes more serious ones.

There are some mucous surfaces in the nasopharynx, which help to warm the air that has got there, and then contribute to its simplified assimilation in the body.

Agree how pleasant it is to inhale your favorite scents. The smell of beautiful flowering plants, a deliciously cooked lunch, the smell of your loved one. A person does not really think about which organs and tissues in our body are responsible for ensuring that we experience one of the five human senses.

The thing is that the structure of the nasopharynx also includes the olfactory mucous surfaces. They are highly sensitive and capable of picking up any smells around us.

What are the most common diseases of the nasopharynx found in medicine?
Often all sorts of inflammation of all its internal surfaces, namely the mucous membrane, appear in the nasopharynx. Tonsils can also hurt. If there are certain problems with the nasopharynx, then the patient first of all needs to seek help from a specialist, namely, an ENT doctor. Infrequently there are cases of food getting into the nasopharynx and the feeling that something has fallen and interferes.You also need to know how to deal with this ailment.

In order to understand what is happening in the human body at the moment when he choked, you need to find out and understand how the back wall of his throat works. Everything that a person eats and the air he breathes passes directly through his throat, in order to subsequently enter the body. All food products, passing through the larynx, enter the esophagus, and only then enter the stomach itself. As for the air, it sinks lower and goes to another compartment – the trachea, nasopharynx, and only then into the lungs.Most importantly, both of these pathways, before entering the human body, are conceived from the back of the throat. And in the event that both of these holes are open, how can food enter one hole and air into a completely different one?

It is good that the body of each person keeps everything under its control. The fact is that in the human body, the epiglottis is located above the trachea itself, which begins to act with each swallowing. It is able to close the so-called “little door”, which allows food not to enter the respiratory tract, but to move straight into the stomach.

Another question if a person laughs or talks while eating. At this time, the epiglottis simply does not have time to close at the time when it is necessary. And because of this, the smallest particles of food can freely enter the respiratory tract, namely the trachea.

If these pieces are very tiny, then the body can fight it on its own and just push them out. However, you will have to cough. Some people panic at the same time, but this is not worth doing.After all, in a few seconds everything will pass and fall into place.

What can be the reasons for food entering the nasopharynx:

• if a person takes it into his head to talk or laugh with a full mouth;
• if food is consumed very quickly;
• if the absorption of food occurs in an uncomfortable position;
• if a person does not chew food well.

But if food enters the respiratory tract, if it gets stuck in the nasopharynx, and if the piece of food that has got is larger than the body can afford to push out, the process of suffocation may occur.This is due to the fact that a large amount of food simply blocks the airways, and air simply cannot pass through them into the lungs.

In this situation, a person will no longer be able to help himself with a simple cough, moreover, the ability to breathe and make any sounds may disappear. If the trachea remains blocked for a long time, then the person’s face changes in color. It can turn both bright red, eventually turn blue.

If it seems to a person that he has got some foreign body in the nasopharynx, then the nose can be rinsed with ordinary water at room temperature.It often happens that food, passing into the esophagus, simply touches the trachea, it is because of this that such an unpleasant sensation appears. But it doesn’t matter.

If you have any other problems with the nasopharynx, then you should not postpone the visit to a specialist. After all, timely seeking help from a doctor guarantees success and a positive result at the end of the treatment process.
Be healthy!

Each of our readers faced a similar problem. This incident is quite unpleasant, since food stuck between the teeth sometimes causes painful sensations.If this situation occurs frequently, then you should seek the help of a dentist, as this may indicate a serious dental problem. We’ll talk more about food stuck between your teeth later.

Root causes

What causes food to clog between teeth? Let’s figure it out. Firstly, this happens with an incorrect bite. This pathology can be easily detected by flossing between the teeth. If it passes without resistance, then the bite is wrong.At the same time, even a small space between the teeth allows food or food debris to get stuck, creating discomfort in the dentition. Secondly, the cause of stuck food between the teeth can be a poorly installed, as well as improperly filled tooth. In such a situation, a gap is created between the teeth, in which food gets stuck.

Thirdly, the cause of the problem in question can be a greatly expanded dentition, which is displaced after the loss of a tooth.

How bad is it?

When the situation with food stuck between the teeth is repeated quite often, then this can serve as the onset of gum inflammation, bleeding of the gums.In addition, food residues in the dentition will cause painful sensations in the bone wall. In dentistry, this pain is called septal syndrome. Dense food contributes to the development of periodontitis with an unpleasant feeling of tension in the jaw or pain when chewing. As a result, a periodontal pocket forms on some teeth, which opens access to infection. At the same time, each time the food will penetrate deeper into the pocket, it can provoke inflammation, damage to the gums.

It should be noted that food stuck between teeth contributes to the development of carious lesions. This means that in the long term, it is responsible for irreversible damage to the tooth and its tissues. In the absence of timely treatment, such a situation may result in the loss of a tooth. Fermentation of stuck food causes.

What to do?

Faced with such an unpleasant situation, many of us try to pick out food debris between our teeth with a toothpick.However, this “tool” should not be used too often, as it injures the gums and accelerates the phenomenon of loosening of stuck food pieces. It is best to remove food from this trap with dental floss.

At home, you can clean the mouth from food debris using an irrigator or simply rinse your mouth with a solution of soda.

It should be noted that regular use of a floss or toothbrush, while providing relief, does not solve the problem. If food gets stuck between the teeth on a regular basis, then you need to consult a dentist who can replace a crown and an unusable filling, and install braces to correct the bite.

How to avoid a food incident between your teeth?

First, rinse your mouth after eating, filtering water through your teeth. One good rinse will remove all food debris. It is better for these purposes to use a special rinse for teeth, which has an antibacterial property.

Second, be sure to brush your teeth before bed. Don’t let leftover food remain between your teeth overnight, or you risk a lot of gum problems.

And third, chew the gum.Spend about 20 minutes chewing sugar-free gum after a meal or snack. As you chew, your saliva forms a natural buffer in your mouth that neutralizes the acid in plaque before it attacks your teeth. The movement of the rubber band in your mouth can dislodge food trapped between your teeth, making it easy to remove.

“Why does thick mucus constantly accumulate in the nasopharynx?” – Yandex.Qu

The accumulation of mucus in the throat is an unpleasant, but curable condition.The main thing is to accurately determine the cause of this symptom, and eliminate it.

In medicine, there is even a special term that is used when mucus constantly flows down the pharynx from the nasal cavity – postnasal syndrome. In fact, this is the same cold, but vice versa.

Why does thick mucus constantly accumulate in the nasopharynx?

• Causes of persistently accumulating mucus in the pharynx can be infectious and non-infectious in nature. These include: Inflammatory diseases of the nasopharynx and larynx (sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis).The increased production of mucous secretions during this period is associated with the body’s attempt to clear the airways from bacteria and viruses, thereby speeding up recovery. The fact that mucus in this case is released abundantly, on the contrary, is a variant of the norm.
• Chronic upper respiratory tract diseases. These diseases cause inflammation in the nasopharynx, as a result of which a permanent source of infection is formed here.
• Diseases of the lower respiratory tract (bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis).
• Allergic reactions to external stimuli. Allergies can be accompanied by an abundant accumulation of phlegm, which interferes and you want to constantly swallow it.
• Disorders in the work of the gastrointestinal tract, in which the contents of the stomach are thrown back into the esophagus and further into the pharynx (gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastritis, ulcer).
• Features of the structure of the nasal cavity (deviated nasal septum, enlarged turbinates).
• Adenoids.
• Improper nutrition – eating too fatty or spicy foods irritates the digestive tract and can provoke increased secretion.
• Bad habits. Smoking and alcohol abuse leads to burns of the pharyngeal mucosa. The body is trying to get rid of the harmful effects of harmful substances, intensively producing mucous masses.
• Ingress of foreign objects into the nasal cavity.
• Poor environmental situation at the place of residence – polluted air and dust.In this way, the body tries to get rid of harmful particles trapped in the air.

To understand how to get rid of mucus, you need to consult an ENT doctor to determine the cause of postnasal syndrome.

The otorhinolaryngologist is engaged in determining the cause of the accumulation of mucous masses. Sometimes you have to additionally contact related specialists: allergist, gastroenterologist, etc. After establishing the cause of the unpleasant condition, the patient will be assigned an effective treatment regimen aimed not only at getting rid of sputum, but also at treating the underlying disease.

How to get rid of mucus in the throat?

1. The ENT doctor will definitely recommend to the patient to adjust the amount of fluid consumed: it is necessary to drink more warm fluid to thin the mucus (of course, if the patient does not have kidney problems).
2. The patient is prescribed expectorants and drugs to thin the sputum (mucolytics) to speed up its passage.
3. If sputum is formed due to an infectious disease, the doctor prescribes antibacterial or antiviral therapy (the drug, its dosage and course of administration are also determined by the otorhinolaryngologist).
4. If the cause is an allergy, antihistamines are prescribed. Further treatment is handled by an allergist.
5. When diagnosing problems with the gastrointestinal tract, it is necessary to undergo a course of treatment with a gastroenterologist.
6. Local therapy also includes the use of antiseptic sprays (for example, Miramistin), taking immunostimulants (Imudon, Lizobakt). Physiotherapy procedures in the ENT clinic will perfectly complement the main treatment and speed up the healing process.

I tell you in detail about the flow of mucus through the nasopharynx in my article

If you have any questions on ENT-related topics, or you need professional help from an ENT doctor, please contact.

I’m online!

I will be glad to help!

Always yours, Doctor Zaitsev

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