Aug three, 2018

Announcer: Is it bad plenty to become to the emergency room? Or isn't it? You're listening to "ER or Not" on The Telescopic.

Tin You Breath?

Interviewer: Should yous go to the ER if you accept food stuck in your throat? Today's edition of "ER or Not" is with Dr. Troy Madsen. Play along, think about it, if y'all get food stuck in your pharynx, should y'all go to the ER? I tin can think of 1 instance where you would. That's where if it's blocking your ability to exhale, then absolutely call 911, become to the ER. What about the situation where you can nevertheless exhale only you tin only feel it there still? Does that merit a trip to the ER?

Dr. Madsen: Yous know, that's really more than mutual than you might remember. And, like you said, showtime of all recall airway. Any airway issues, trouble breathing, admittedly, get to the ER, telephone call 911. But, all that aside, y'all know nosotros oftentimes see, I would say in the ER I see one of these cases every month or so. Someone who is eating, it'southward generally steak, usually the large pieces of steak, ordinarily men . . .

Interviewer: Are y'all beingness serious here?

Dr. Madsen: I am being completely serious.

Interviewer: Okay.

Dr. Madsen: Aye, and usually men and commonly kind of, maybe, middle-anile men are maybe watching a game or something. I don't know. I don't know the exact circumstances, but they're eating large pieces of steak and eating it too quickly.

Maybe they accept some underlying result with the esophagus, with the food tube that goes to the tummy, where peradventure it was narrowed or something like that and makes them a college gamble for this. They'll be eating it and then it just gets stuck in the esophagus. So they come in and they're usually belongings like a bowl or some sort of basin or something, because they cannot swallow their saliva. Nix volition get past this food, so they're spitting it into this thing and it'south very obvious what'south wrong.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Dr. Madsen: They've got this food lodged in at that place and I'll inquire them, "Okay, where is it?" and they can commonly signal right where information technology is. Most of the time I kind of notice information technology'due south their upper pharynx, like you if you feel on your neck kind of where information technology hits the sternum there, the height office. They point right at that point, that'southward the common spot. Otherwise they might point downward lower breast kind of towards the stomach. Those are the 2 points where we really see this food go stuck.

Try Drinking a Coke (No Really)

And so, if this happens at your domicile, there is something you can try and it's something nosotros tin try in the ER as well. But information technology's not a bad idea merely to give it a shot, and that is to try and drink a Coke. And you're not going to exist able to swallow the Coke considering information technology'due south not going to become past the food, but if you tin get a little bit down your throat and let information technology sit there, some way this works.

And I've kind of wondered how exactly does information technology work, possibly but the carbonation that kind of relaxes things in the esophagus and perchance helps that to movement down. I don't know if information technology'south the acidity of the Coke. That it would be that speedily interim, I have a hard time believing information technology, only information technology is a play a trick on. It's in textbooks. Y'all know, anecdotally, maybe I can say I've seen it work. In talking to other ER doctors, they say, "Oh yeah, I've seen it work now and then. I've tried it and it seemed to do the trick." My guess is that'due south probably going to work more for something call up you can feel that's down lower, closer to the stomach, peradventure that only has a little scrap farther to go. But I call back you lot can give it a shot, simply if that doesn't work, you're going to have to go to the ER.

Interviewer: All right. And then, is that i of the first things you try in the ER, is the "Coke Trick"?

Dr. Madsen: I can't say I reliably endeavour it. I accept a couple of times in people where it'south down low. You know the instance, like I said, where someone comes in and they're pointing to their upper throat, I'grand just like, It's not going to work, you know. Only down lower, I've tried that. At that place's also an IV medication we can endeavor in the ER, but typically those things become to where we're calling the GI medico in. They're going downwardly, pushing the food downwardly all the way in the tummy or pulling it out so it's out of the way.

Interviewer: Gotcha. And so try the Coke thing at home. If that works, hey great, exist more careful next fourth dimension. Smaller pieces like your mom told you.

Chew Your Food!

Dr. Madsen: Like your mom said, chew your food.

Interviewer: That'south it. And if it doesn't piece of work, that is something y'all need to go to the ER for.

Dr. Madsen: It is. Yeah, it's ordinarily not going to pass on its own, especially if you've been feeling information technology at that place for an hour or so.

Announcer: Have a question about a medical procedure? Want to learn more about a wellness condition? With over 2,000 interviews with our physicians and specialists, at that place's a pretty adept risk you'll observe what yous desire to know. Check information technology out at TheScopeRadio.com.


updated: August 3, 2018
originally published: November 11, 2016

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