Sometimes food goes down the wrong pipe and gets stuck. This
leads to choking, which is when a foreign object is trapped in the airway suddenly,
blocking the flow of air into the lungs.
Dr Angela Wang, Adult Medicine physician at ParkwayHealth,
explains what happens when food goes down the wrong pipe, and the most common
scenarios where it happens.
If you swallow correctly, food is meant to go down your esophagus into your stomach. When food goes down the ‘wrong pipe’, ie. your
trachea (commonly known as the windpipe), it causes choking. Choking can be
partial, where the airway is partly blocked. This may result in lung
complications, such as pneumonia, atelectasis, with symptoms such as coughing,
wheezing or breathlessness.
When the airway is fully blocked, it is an emergency that
requires immediate treatment to remove the object that is blocking the airflow.
Irreversible brain damage occurs within 5 minutes of interrupted breathing. Brain
death occurs in about 10 minutes.
Most common choking foods
Common food items resulting in choking, especially in
children, include:
- Hot dog
- Hard candy
- Chewing gum
- Nuts and seeds
- Chunks of meat or cheese
- Whole grapes
- Popcorn
- Chunks of peanut butter
- Raw vegetables
- Raisins
Most common choking risks and scenarios
Advanced age
As you grow older, your gag reflex may decrease and this
increases the chance of choking.
Drinking alcohol
Your swallowing mechanism and gag reflex can be impaired if
you’ve had excessive alcohol.
Diseases resulting in swallowing problems
Parkinson’s disease is an example of a condition that
disrupts the swallowing mechanism. Patients are prone to choking and recurrent pulmonary infections.
Big bites
Taking a big bite of a steak larger than what your mouth can
chew can result in improper swallowing and breathing, and thus choking. Eating
too many small items like nuts at once can also result in choking since these
nuts are small and can end up in the airway.
Inattention while eating
Sometimes when you’re talking, laughing and eating at the
same time, your coordination of swallowing and breathing can lapse and result
in choking. For kids, running while eating increases the chance of choking as
the child may inhale the food while taking a deep breath.
What should you do during a food choke?
You should immediately perform the universal sign of choking
by grasping your neck with both hands if possible.
If you are alone, you should seek help by all means immediately. You can
then attempt to self-perform the Heimlich manoeuvre to try to dislodge the food
item as shown below.
- Place a fist slightly above your navel
- Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface – a countertop or chair will do
- Shove your fist inward and upward
What about food that gets stuck in the throat?
Sometimes food goes down the ‘right pipe’ but gets stuck.
For food that is stuck in the throat and not the airways, you can try drinking
some water to see if it can move down.
However, if it is a bone that is stuck in the throat, do NOT
attempt to remove it by yourself. Trying to remove the bone by using your
fingers or swallowing mashed food like banana can lead to injury around the
throat.
If food is stuck in your throat and cannot be removed, head
to the accident and emergency (A&E) department immediately. Food that is
stuck in the throat increases the risk of aspiration, where the food enters the
windpipe, and this can be dangerous. A doctor can help to remove the food item
safely. If the object is stuck at a deeper site in the throat, specialized
equipment will be needed to remove the object.
Article reviewed by Dr Angela Wang, Adult Medicine physician
at ParkwayHealth
Copyright: Health
Plus an online health and wellness web resource developed by Parkway Singapore
