Piece of a cashew has been stuck in my throat all day :( Need advice

[TearsofFate]

I was eating mixed nuts, so it could be any kind really..a large piece got stuck in my throat. I tried water, warm tea, warm tea with honey in it. I tried eating cookies as well, to try and get it down but it's really stuck. It really doesn't want to go down. It's making me nervous and uncomfortable.

 

I was just wondering if there's any way to get it down. I didn't really eat anything all day except cookies and tea because of it. I ate some mashed potatoes earlier. It moves around sometimes when I swallow but feels really stuck.

 

Thanks

[mpeer]

Did it go down the wrong pipe?

 

Heimlech? Hook? Hospital?

[tallydoo]

Are you sure it's still the piece of cashew? Sometimes when you're eating hard foods with potentially sharp edges like that, it can scrape your throat near your larynx (could be why it hurts to swallow--your larynx moves when you swallow) and the scrape can feel like food is stuck. Keep eating soft, non-acidic foods for a while (acid reflux can aggravate the problem), then go see your GP if it doesn't get better or your voice changes.

[TearsofFate]

mpeer, I don't think it's down the wrong pipe. It seems to be wear I swallow on the side kind of. Tally doo, I think you might be right, it might be a scratch. It kind of feels like both to be honest A scratch and that it's stuck, because I can feel it moving around, and it also stings. It moved to the other side at one point, then went back to it's original side and felt awful

 

I'll keep away from acidic food, thanks for the advice.

[luminousone]

Hope by now that the problem has resolved itself. It sounds like the cashew piece got stuck in an area called the vallecula. If it is still bothering you then you might try eating a piece of bread.

 

Otherwise you can go to an ear nose and throat specialist to get it out (otolaryngologist).

 

If you think it is a pill then you shoukd have it taken care of immediately.

[pippy longstocking]

tears you do make me chuckle darling , you do do some things ..

 

is it out ?

 

I need to know about this cashew nut now !

[TearsofFate]

I woke up, still feeling the piece in there. I tried to ignore it and go about my day, until I got hungry..I had lots of tea, and more cookies. It's hard to get anything down, but I tried having toast and crackers and that went well. It does still hurt though. It hurts more after I eat, so I'm thinking it might be a scratch or damage done by the cashew. I can't tell if it's still stuck in there, but it feels like it.

 

Sneezing caused it to hurt too. Right now it's pinching/hurting. So it's still not out yet. Someone reccommended I try eating a ball of rice so I'm going to try that.

 

shooting star, I tried standing on my head ...it didn't work. When you become desperate you do funny things!

[pippy longstocking]

shooting star, I tried standing on my head ...it didn't work. When you become desperate you do funny things!

 

tears I am rolling

[TearsofFate]

I think I'm going to make an appointment for the doctors for tomorrow. It's been almost 3 days and it's still in there. I was even thinking of just going to the hospital, but then they usually make you wait 8 hours or longer.

 

I don't have a regular or family doctor so I'm not sure what to do. I usually just go into a walk-in-clinic but I don't know if they deal with this sort of thing

[avman]

I think I'm going to make an appointment for the doctors for tomorrow. It's been almost 3 days and it's still in there. I was even thinking of just going to the hospital, but then they usually make you wait 8 hours or longer.

 

I don't have a regular or family doctor so I'm not sure what to do. I usually just go into a walk-in-clinic but I don't know if they deal with this sort of thing

 

Feeling something like that for 3 days is really abnormal. I would go into an urgent care clinic to be seen for this. At least that's what I would do in the U.S. Does Canada have urgent care centers to take care of these non emergency type of things? If the hospital is the only option I'd really recommend you go and be seen. If there really is a piece of food trapped somewhere you don't want it working it's way around, blocking your trachea, and cutting off your breathing.

[TearsofFate]

Okay, I am going to go to the hospital. I'm going to walk over there. I'm just getting ready now.

 

They have walk-in-clinics around where I live but I think they would most likely refer me to a ent doctor at the hospital. They only fix very minor problems. I was tempted to get a referral since then I'd have an appointment without any waiting time, but now I am worried, so I am just going to go to the hospital.

 

Thanks

[luminousone]

The hospital will get you an ENT and they will have the correct equipment to diagnose and treat you - the scopes with a camera, etc. Good luck and keep us posted!

[avman]

Good luck. Feel better soon!

[TearsofFate]

I went to the walk-in-clinic first hoping they'd refer me, so I'd get into the hospital quicker. The doctor there said "Just keep eating and it will go down"....

 

....I told her I'm having problems eating, so she wrote me a letter for the hospital. I got in pretty quick. I was getting anxiety thinking they were going to stick tubes down my throat so they were like "your hearts beating so fast!" and it made my anxiety worse.

 

I was getting bad heart burn (which I told them) but I think it was from the 3 days of not really eating, and stressing. The woman was almost certain it was a scratch and didn't stick anything down my throat. She felt around for swelling, ...but thats it. (This was the ER)

 

They did all my vitals and everything, but she said if I am still drinking water, then it's just a scratch. She told me to treat it like a wound and stop drinking tea, and have ice cream instead...and cold drinks. She told me to wait 5 more days and to go in sooner if it worsens.

 

Ugh..I am dissappointed because I was all ready for them to stick tubes or tongs down my throat to rid me of the cashew which, to me, still feels like it's in there. I have to wait it out...for better or for worse..all the while eating nothing but icecream.

 

I am wondering if maybe they should have looked down my throat. I would have thought that was normal procedure.

[handshakes]

Are you sure it isn't a tonsil stone? I get those from time to time and it feels like what you have described. It is harmless and nothing to worry about, just bothersome. You can read about them here: link removed. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

[tiredofvampires]

Not to be dismissive of your concerns, but the likelihood that you have a piece of food trapped in your esophagus is next to nill. The esophagus is a smooth, muscular tube that pushes food down in a wave-like pattern, so that material in it will go down. If you had anything blocking the way, you wouldn't be able to swallow and get food down, and it would have to be quite a large object to stay lodged in there. I would also imagine that if there was anything physical in either your throat, or the esophagus, you would have convulsive heaves (like vomiting), as your body, in a gag-like reflex, tries to expel it. When you get something caught in your windpipe, the body tries to get rid of it with coughing; if you had something in your esophagus, it wouldn't just sit around in there, while you carry on eating and drinking.

 

When I was a little kid, I was sucking on a round hard candy, and swallowed it when it was still pretty sizable. So it went down whole, and though it didn't scratch me, it hurt so badly, it was like someone had punched me in the throat. Every swallow was agonizing. I remember crying and being taken in the house, unable to speak and scared to swallow because of the pain. I couldn't speak the rest of the day, and was in bed because my throat hurt so much. I don't remember how long the residual pain lasted, but the incident was enough to burn itself in my memory. I thought the candy had lodged in my throat so at first what I was doing was swallowing a lot to try to get it down, but I'm sure that it was long down. It's just that it stretched the tissues, probably gave me a spasm, and that felt like a lump in my throat.

 

I think that with the amount of anxiety you're having, what is basically a scratch (and maybe an odd-shaped piece of nut that stretched the throat a little) has turned into a spasm because you're freaking out.

 

I'll be interested if I'm wrong, what this is. But I think you should calm down as this is probably nothing, if it just started with swallowing that nut.

 

But have a doctor do an exam to rule out anything else.

 

In the meantime, I don't think it's the best to be on a monodiet of ice cream, that's not healthy. I'd eat soft, nutritious foods like mashed potatoes (like you did), mashed yams, warm soup (like split pea, which is smooth), blended cooked veggies, like pureed carrots, etc. There is no value to anything cold, either, as I see it, except to numb the area, and if your throat is spasming at all, warmth will do it more good. But that's just my opinion and I'm not a medical professional. That's just how I would treat it if it were me.

[luminousone]

Not to be dismissive of your concerns,

but the likelihood that you have a piece of food trapped in your esophagus is next to nill. The esophagus is a smooth, muscular tube that pushes food down in a wave-like pattern, so that material in it will go down. If you had anything blocking the way, you wouldn't be able to swallow and get food down, and it would have to be quite a large object to stay lodged in there. I would also imagine that if there was anything physical in either your throat, or the esophagus, you would have convulsive heaves (like vomiting), as your body, in a gag-like reflex, tries to expel it. When you get something caught in your windpipe, the body tries to get rid of it with coughing; if you had something in your esophagus, it wouldn't just sit around in there, while you carry on eating."

 

Actually it is possible that a piece of nut lodged itself in a certain spot called the vallecula near the esophagus- it doesnt happen very often but it is a small space where a small piece of food just might get lodged, and it can be quite uncomfortable.

 

I am sorry to hear that they didnt scope you to figure it out but I guess they wanted to think it was just a scratch or irritation- which it could also be. If it is indeed a scratch then gargling with warm salt water should help.

 

But if you still have the problem and go back to the hospital then INSIST on a consult with an ENT or with a speech-language pathologist. A speech- language pathologist conducts swallow study xrays for patients and so they know all about the swallow pathways and places food can get stuck.

 

However the ENT is your first bet because they will diagnose and treat if there is food stuck there or not...

[tiredofvampires]

Actually it is possible that a piece of nut lodged itself in a certain spot called the vallecula near the esophagus- it doesnt happen very often but it is a small space where a small piece of food just might get lodged, and it can be quite uncomfortable.

 

That's interesting. Didn't know that.

 

In that case, it should be looked into promptly, because the food would start to decay and cause infection from bacterial build-up, I'd think.

[TearsofFate]

I waited a day and a half so far, and it's still in there. It feels so horrible, I feel like I'm going to throw up constantly. Last night if I was on one side I didn't feel it too much but, if I lay on the other side, I felt it digging into my throat.

 

This morning, I feel it really bad, like a hard thing, and it's making me start to feel sick. It's right in an area that makes me feel sick. It's from where I swallow, and it radiates to the back of my tongue now, making me feel like puking.

 

Last night there was a lot of burning there, but today it feels just like this big hard jabby thing.

 

I don't know if I can bare it much longer. My voice sounds all hoarse as well, but the thing that is bothering me the most is the hard piece of nut feeling in my throat. I think it's been 5 days total now, and the doctor told me to wait 5 days from the day I went to the hospital.

 

It's got me depressed. I hate this feeling everyday.

[luminousone]

Do you really have to wait the full 5 days? Can you just call an ENT on your own? They will have the equipment in their office I believe.

[TearsofFate]

I am seeing an ENT tomorrow. For some reason today it feels more jagged in there. It feels like a big piece of pointy moving rock stuck where I swallow. I think it really must be that something got stuck in the vallecula like luminousone suggested. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I read up on it, and that's exactly what it feels like. I had a lot of time to think about this, and I have had this happen before now that I think of it, but with softer foods and was rare when it happened. Those foods dissolved within a few hours and were not painful or nearly as stressful. Water helped it wash away too. Sometimes it would hang around for a day but wasn't painful. I think it's so painful because this time it's a big piece of cashew. I actually think that maybe my vallecula might be larger then normal and catches food.

 

I am definitely seeing a ENT tomorrow and will tell them what I think, and will demand to see one.

 

I can't wait for this feeling to go away. I have been eating mashed potatoes, yogurt, and icecream. The only weird symptom is that there is a lot of burning in that area when I eat. I really don't know.

 

I hope it's nothing serious..I'm really nervous I feel kind of like a baby. I wish someone was with me to go to the ENT. I was so nervous at the hospital and will be again tomorrow. I'm 26 but am terrified. The feeling of the piece in my throat isn't really helping my anxiety either.

[TearsofFate]

Also I read you can remove trapped food from the vallecula by vomiting. ....!!!

 

I never tried to make myself puke, but I feel like giving it a shot at this point. I know it's probably a really bad idea though.

[tiredofvampires]

actually think that maybe my vallecula might be larger then normal and catches food.

 

You should ask the ENT about this, so that you know what your anatomy is like and if this is a risk in the future for you.

 

Do not try to vomit, as the acid in vomit will probably make the burning worse.

 

Let us know what happens, and try to stay calm. This is not likely to involve anything seriously invasive.

 

 

Have you tried gargling, by any chance? That might help, as you're irrigating the area. I can't think of any way that would harm. Here's an answer on a site I just found, addressing someone with this problem (if it's food in the vallecula):

 

You most likely have food lodged in your vallecula, they are little pouches at the base of your tongue that commonly trap food, but very difficult to remove sometimes. I have seen it on occasions in the ER. You need to try to gargle with water while gargling try to rotate your neck or gargle and extend your neck( look up to the sky) while rubbing the upper portion of your neck so that the pouches move and possibly dislodging the food. If you don't feel like you can get it out you might have to go to a primary care type place and they can get it out.

[TearsofFate]

Gargling salt now...I think I did it too long, I was gargling then suddenly this jolt of pain went up and down my throat but radiated the most where the stuck food feeling is, and my whole throat started spasming and I was gagging and choking. I was wondering what happened.

 

I usually gargle salt for throat infections and things, but nothing like this happened before. It suddenly started burning really bad. Can't wait till my appointment tomorrow! It's going to be a long night.

[TearsofFate]

Thanks for the advice. I tried gargling salt and it actually felt nice at first. It kind of distracted me from the other feeling. Because it was so soothing I overdid it, and suddenly my whole throat got all funny and I started coughing, but that's my own fault.

 

Thanks again for all the help and support. I am really thinking it is stuck in the vallecula, mainly because I had bouts of a similar feeling right behind the tongue before, but nothing nearly as scary as this, or as painful. I am definitely mentioning this and going to ask them about it.

 

I never minded the tinier scrapes of food that got stuck in there, but the cashew that is probably in there was pretty big. I could even tell while I was eating it that it went down way too soon, and it was way too big, ...if it's really stuck in there, then it would make sense all this pain and irritation.

 

Thank you again.

 

I will try gargling with water and rotating my head.