Emergency Medicine Questions Emergency Medicine

Choking on water?

I choked on water 10 minutes ago. I stayed conscious but I felt my airway close twice. What should I do now? Should I go to an urgent care? Should I not go to sleep immediately?

Female | 25 years old
Complaint duration: 10 minutes
Conditions: Lupus

1 Answer

EmergencyMedicineEmergencyMedicine
Your swallowing and breathing tubes are actually connected until you get down into the neck. In the neck, a piece of firm tissue (epiglottis) closes like a door over the entrance to the trachea (your main breathing tube) when you swallow.

Every now and then, if you swallow too fast or too much, the epiglottis doesn't close perfectly and water in the trachea--even a small amount--will trigger a very strong cough and it can make you feel like you're choking. And it can cause laryngospasm, or tightening of the muscles in the back of the throat, and that can make you feel like your airway is closing.

A one-time event is for us not very worrisome, and we generally think: let your body be your guide.

These are the things that worry us:
1-Not back to normal
2-Still having problems swallowing
3-Pain with swallowing
4-Shortness of breath
5-Continued feeling of airway closing
6-Foreign body sensation
7-Persistent cough, chest pain, fever (sometimes when you swallow water the wrong way, bacteria can get in the lung and cause pneumonia)
8-Multiple episodes of choking on water or food.

A patient who has none of these after a one-time episode is low risk. Staying awake for a couple of extra hours to check yourself a good idea.
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