People who have an object stuck in their throat should avoid folk remedies and immediately seek medical help, a doctor said.
Lee Chieh-je (李傑哲), a doctor at Lin Shin Hospital in Taichung’s Wurih District (烏日), said he recently treated a 58-year-old woman, surnamed Chiang (蔣), who had developed a tracheoesophageal fistula after accidentally swallowing a 2.5cm-long chicken bone while eating a bowl of rice noodles.
Chiang went to hospitals in Miaoli County, where she resides, after swallowing the bone, but doctors who conducted a laryngoscopy were unable to find anything, Lee said, adding that Chiang felt pain in her throat while drinking water or eating for four days after swallowing the bone.
Lee said he had previously treated Chiang and she went to him for treatment, adding that by the time she went to the hospital in Wurih it had been five days after she swallowed the bone.
Chiang also said the right side of her face felt numb, Lee added.
After performing a gastroscopy, Lee said he found a piece of bone caught in Chiang’s esophagus, adding that although the bone was removed, it caused a fistula.
Chiang had to be hospitalized for treatment, Lee said.
People who have an object stuck in their throat should avoid the folk remedy of drinking vinegar, which might cause inflammation of the throat, Lee said, adding that they should also avoid ingesting solid foods or try to dislodge the stuck object by inducing vomiting.
If the object is lodged higher up in the throat, people can go to otolaryngology clinics, Lee said, adding that if the object is lodged deeper and has affected the esophagus, people should seek help at gastroenterology and hepatology departments.
Doctors act carefully during the removal process, as there is the possibility that the object might pierce through the esophagus or arteries, causing a hemorrhage that might lead to shock or death, Lee said.
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