How To Get Food Unstuck From Throat

What to do when food gets stuck in your throat?

Swallowing is a complex process involving around 50 pairs of muscles and several nerves. Sometimes things may go wrong during this process, causing the food to get stuck in your throat or windpipe or esophagus. Choking is particularly common among young children and adults over the age of 74. It happens when food or a foreign object gets stuck in your throat or windpipe, blocking the flow of air.

When someone is choking, you will notice his/her hands clutched to the throat. Others signs of choking include:

Inability to talk
Difficulty breathing or noisy breathing
Cough, forcefully or weakly
Skin, lips and nails turning blue or dusky
Loss of consciousness

Choking is a life-threatening emergency. Get immediate medical help if you or a loved one experiences these symptoms. Experts recommend performing back blows and abdominal thrusts before calling your local emergency services.

The Red Cross recommends a "five-and-five" approach to dislodge the blockage. Give 5 back blows between the person's shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Then deliver 5 abdominal thrusts (also known as the Heimlich maneuver). Repeat this five-and-five cycle until the blockage is dislodged.

How to perform abdominal thrusts on someone else

Stand behind the person. Wrap your arms around the person's waist and tilt him/her forward slightly. Make a fist with one hand and place it slightly above the person's navel. Grasp the fist with the other hand and then press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust. Repeat this 5 times, if needed.

How to perform abdominal thrusts on yourself

If you're alone and choking, it will be difficult to effectively deliver back blows to yourself. But you can perform abdominal thrusts to dislodge the blockage.

To perform the Heimlich maneuver on yourself, first, position a fist slightly above your navel. Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface (a countertop or chair). Then press hard into the abdomen with a quick, upward thrust. If you're a pregnant woman or obese person, place your hands a little bit higher, at the base of the breastbone, just above the joining of the lowest ribs. Repeat the abdominal thrusts until the food or other blockage is dislodged or the person becomes unconscious.

Some tricks to dislodge food stuck in your esophagus

When food gets stuck in your esophagus, the breathing may not be affected as the food has already cleared your windpipe. However, you may experience severe chest pain, excessive drooling and cough. Here are some ways to resolve the issue at home.

Immediately drink a can of Coke, or another carbonated beverage. Research says this simple technique can help break up food and dislodge the blockage.

Taking a few big sips of water may also help wash down the food stuck in your esophagus.

Take a bite of banana or a moist piece of food. Sometimes one food can help push another down the esophagus. If you don't banana at home, dip a piece of bread in water or milk, and take a few small bites.

Mix some baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, with water. Drinking this solution may help break down food that's stuck in the throat.

Eat a tablespoon of butter. This may help moisten the lining of the esophagus and allow the stuck food to slide easily down into your stomach.