Have you ever felt like something was stuck in your throat? As if something is stopping you from swallowing food, talking, or even breathing normally? This feeling is familiar to almost everyone, and if you are one of them, then this article is for you.
What does a person feel?
In addition to the presence of the unpleasant sensations themselves, as if something was stuck in the throat, a person may also experience the following complaints and symptoms:
- difficulty swallowing liquid and solid foods, sometimes even saliva;
- persistent coughing;
- pain in the neck and back of the head due to the constant application of efforts in order to get rid of unpleasant sensations;
- a constant desire to swallow this lump, and after swallowing it, the occurrence of pain behind the sternum, which is often accompanied by belching;
- sore throat, as if something was stuck;
- difficulty in breathing, which can lead to mental disorders in the form of a constant fear of death;
- decreased appetite, followed by a decrease in body weight due to fear of eating.
Thus, one seemingly insignificant symptom can lead to grave consequences - mental disorders and exhaustion of the body.
Main reasons
An unpleasant feeling, as if something is stuck in the throat, can be caused by a number of physiological, mental and physical disorders of the body. The main such diseases and pathological conditions include:
- chronic stress and other mental disorders, as one of the most common causes of discomfort in the presence of a coma in the throat;
- food stuck, which is more common in older people who wear dentures;
- viscous sputum, in which it is difficult to cough up, which occurs with inflammation of the organs of the respiratory system (tracheitis, bronchitis, pneumonia) .;
- reflux esophagitis is an inflammatory disease of the esophagus, in which the contents of the stomach enter the esophagus;
- narrowing and scarring of the esophagus after surgical interventions and inflammatory diseases;
- the formation of protrusion on the esophagus (diverticulum), which can become inflamed with the development of diverticulitis;
- inflammation of the tonsils (tonsillitis) - occurs with bacterial and viral infections and can cause sensations, as if a lump in the throat were stuck;
- inflammation of the larynx and pharynx with allergic reactions;
- endocrine diseases, namely thyroid damage;
- neoplasms of the esophagus;
- enlarged lymph nodes located near the esophagus;
- damage to the central nervous system - a violation of blood circulation in the brain (stroke), grass of the spinal cord and brain;
- functional disorders of the central nervous system, which can cause swallowing disorder and the appearance of a sensation as if food in the throat were stuck;
- systemic diseases of the connective tissue with damage to the esophagus, such as systemic scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus;
- osteochondrosis of the cervical spine;
- short-term spasms of the muscular membrane of the esophagus with nervous overload.
There are really a lot of causes of unpleasant sensations in the throat, so for a better understanding of what caused the problem, you need to consider this symptom in conjunction with other complaints. Below, the main causes of this unpleasant sensation and other symptoms that may accompany it will be examined in more detail.
Chronic stress
This problem is the main reason why a person may say: "As if stuck in the throat." Such a condition in psychology is called globus histericus and occurs after severe shocks, psychological trauma, deprivation.
Symptoms As a rule, in addition to the sensations as if food is stuck in the throat, depressive and anxiety disorders come to the fore. Although sometimes obvious mood disorders may not be. In such cases, the sensation of a coma in the throat is a mirror of real problems that disturb the person.
Diagnostics. This diagnosis is a diagnosis of exclusion. That is, only after a complete examination of the patient, laboratory and instrumental, after excluding all organic causes that can cause damage to the esophagus and the organs surrounding it, it is possible to diagnose globus histericus.
Treatment. To get rid of discomfort in the throat, you need to contact a therapist. Unfortunately, in countries of the former Soviet Union, turning to a doctor of this kind seems shameful, and people often shy away from this. However, in this case, therapeutic conversations with a specialist are an effective treatment method.
Reflux esophagitis
This disease is also called "gastroesophageal reflux disease." Being another common cause of the feeling that something is stuck in the throat, this pathology occurs due to the weakness of the muscles of the lower esophageal sphincter, which is located between the esophagus and the stomach. Therefore, food and gastric juice from the stomach enter the esophagus, causing damage to its wall and inflammation.
Symptoms Besides the fact that a person has a sore throat, as if something was stuck in him, heartburn is a characteristic manifestation of the disease. It occurs or increases after taking certain foods, chocolate, coffee, red vegetables, after consuming certain medications (nitroglycerin, anticonvulsants), as these products and medicines reduce the tone of the lower esophageal sphincter. Also characteristic is nightly heartburn, increased pain and discomfort in the supine position and with the head tilted down.
Extra-esophageal manifestations are characterized by the presence of persistent stomatitis, gingivitis, bronchitis, pneumonia in the patient due to the fact that the contents of the stomach enter the oral cavity and respiratory tract.
Diagnostics. Among instrumental methods, esophagogastroscopy is used, which allows you to see changes in the mucous membrane of the esophagus, and intragastric pH meter, with which the acidity of the esophagus is measured.
Treatment. To eliminate the symptoms and restore the mucous membrane of the esophagus, drugs that reduce acidity are used - proton pump inhibitors (Omeprazole, Lansoprazole), histamine receptor blockers (Famotidine, Ranitidine), antacids (Maalox). I also use prokinetics to prevent the return of gastric contents to the esophagus (Motilium, Metoclopramide).
Inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system
The onset of feelings, as if the snot was stuck in the throat, often occurs with diseases of the upper respiratory tract (rhinitis, tracheitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis).
Symptoms Coughs with or without sputum, rhinorrhea (snot leakage from the nose), fatigue, weakness, body aches, pain behind the sternum also join the unpleasant sensations of a foreign body in the throat. An increase in temperature may also occur, usually lasting several days in the absence of bacterial complications.
Diagnostics. First of all, to confirm the diagnosis, a consultation with the therapist and ENT doctor is necessary. These specialists can write out a direction for chest x-ray, x-ray of the skull, bronchoscopy (a method for visualizing the bronchial tree), prescribe sputum culture to determine the cause of the disease.
Treatment. Treatment of inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system should be comprehensive and aimed both at eliminating the cause and alleviating the symptoms. If the cause is a virus, it is advisable to prescribe antiviral drugs, and when the bacterial nature of the disease is confirmed (by blood count, sputum culture), antibiotics should be prescribed. Symptomatic treatment involves the use of mucolytics to dilute sputum, expectorants for better discharge, instillation of vasoconstrictive drops in the nose to reduce rhinorrhea.
Thyroid disease
Sometimes the cause of sensations, as if something is stuck in the throat, can be a thyroid gland disease, which leads to a significant increase in it and squeezing of the esophagus, which interferes with the passage of food and causes these unpleasant sensations. An enlargement of the thyroid gland is called goiter. Goiter can develop due to a lack of iodine in the body, autoimmune tissue damage, increased production of pituitary hormones, which stimulate the activity of the thyroid gland.
Symptoms In addition to the visible enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter) and the sensation that it seemed to be stuck in the throat of the hair, other clinical manifestations may accompany thyroid disease. They depend on how much thyroid hormone is produced by iron. If their amount in the blood is increased (hyperthyroidism), a person feels constant nervous excitement, sweating, and loses weight, despite increased appetite. This is due to the acceleration of metabolic processes. If there is a lack of hormones (hypothyroidism), symptoms such as constant fatigue, weakness, chills, swelling, and increased body weight are observed.
Diagnostics. First of all, it is necessary to find out the amount of thyroid hormones and pituitary hormones in order to find out the level of damage to the endocrine system. They also conduct instrumental examination methods such as ultrasound examination, on which you can see the structure of the thyroid gland. The most informative method is a biopsy of a suspect ultrasound education.
Treatment. Treatment directly depends on the functional state of the thyroid gland. With increased production of hormones, drugs that inhibit its function ("Merkazolil") are used, and with a lower - replacement therapy with missing hormones ("Thyroxine").
Esophageal neoplasms
One of the most dangerous conditions that make you feel as if a bone is stuck in your throat is esophageal cancer. Unfortunately, unpleasant sensations appear already in the late stages of cancer, which complicates timely diagnosis and treatment.
Symptoms With malignant formations of the esophagus, unpleasant sensations in the throat arise gradually, constantly increasing, and persist for a long time. Patients also noted a violation of swallowing liquid, and then solid food, pain when swallowing, halitosis. In the later stages, weight loss and exhaustion develop.
Diagnostics. To make an accurate diagnosis and determine the type of neoplasm, it is necessary to conduct esophagogastroscopy with a subsequent biopsy and histological examination of the biopsy.
Treatment. Therapy depends on the stage of the disease, the type of neoplasm, the presence of metastases. So, in the first stages of the disease, in the presence of a benign tumor, you can limit yourself to surgical treatment, which consists in removing the affected stage of the esophagus. In the later stages, surgery must be combined with chemo and radiation therapy.
Systemic inflammatory diseases
Systemic diseases most often have an autoimmune character and affect not only the esophagus, causing an unpleasant feeling, as if something was stuck in the throat. Joints, heart, muscles, lungs, blood vessels, kidneys also suffer. Most often, the esophagus is damaged in diseases such as dermatomyositis (skin and muscles are also inflamed), scleroderma (proliferation of collagen fibers on joints, skin, blood vessels), lupus erythematosus (also affects the kidneys, lungs, heart).
Symptoms Clinical manifestations depend on which systems are involved in the pathological process. When the joints are involved, their soreness, swelling, redness, stiffness of movements appear; with heart damage - pain behind the sternum, shortness of breath, swelling at the end of the day; with muscle inflammation - muscle pain, weakness, skin - rashes of various shapes and sizes, dense subcutaneous nodules. When involved in the esophagus, the mucous membrane becomes inflamed, on which growths and narrowings subsequently form, which causes these unpleasant sensations, as if the bone in the throat were stuck.
Diagnostics. Depending on the location of the lesion, a comprehensive examination of this organ is carried out. To confirm the autoimmune nature of the disease, autoantibodies in the blood are determined, a biochemical blood test is done, in which you can see markers of the inflammatory process (C-reactive protein, an increase in the level of globulins).
Treatment. To reduce the activity of the autoimmune process, drugs that suppress immunity are prescribed. These are drugs such as corticosteroids (Prednisone, Hydrocortisone), cytostatic drugs (Cyclophosphamide, Azathioprine).
What to do when you feel a lump in your throat?
If you feel like crumbs are stuck in your throat, you should immediately consult a doctor! As you can see, the spectrum of diseases that can cause this unpleasant symptom is extremely large. And only an experienced specialist or a group of specialists after a full examination can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. First of all, you should contact such doctors as ENT, endocrinologist, neuropathologist. If, in addition to the unpleasant sensations in the throat, you experience pain in the joints, heart, note the presence of skin rashes, you should go to a rheumatologist.
If all organic lesions of the esophagus and organs around it are excluded, in addition to psychotherapeutic conversations, the help of the patient himself is needed. He must ensure a good sleep, to protect himself from stress as much as possible. It might be worth taking a vacation and relaxing.
How to avoid discomfort in the throat?
So that the feeling as if a pill or food was stuck in the throat is not disturbed in you, you must independently minimize the risks of its occurrence:
- you need to chew food carefully and keep your head straight when swallowing;
- after eating, avoid lying down for 1.5-2 hours;
- avoid eating while moving;
- in the presence of allergies, allergens should be avoided and special medications should be taken;
- avoid stress, nervous overload;
- eat healthy food;
- monitor your health.
Whatever the cause, a sensation of a coma in the throat was caused, it must be remembered that timely access to a doctor, passing a full examination will allow to establish this reason. And timely diagnosis is the key to a full treatment and getting rid of discomfort in the throat forever!