How many pipes are in your throat

Pain When Swallowing You should never feel pain when swallowing, unless you have a sore throat due to a cold or sickness. If you are experiencing abnormal pain when swallowing, this may indicate an irregular swallow or other problems in the throat. These are a few of many. Food and water are supposed to go down the esophagus and into the stomach. This gives food and water the opportunity to get into the lungs. If food or water gets into the lungs, this can cause aspiration pneumonia.

It's usually a cognitive issue -- the person swallowing isn't fully awake or they're distracted -- or it can be a physical problem, where someone has a sensation or motor abnormality. It also commonly occurs after a stroke or surgery on the throat. You should also take into consideration that liquids are much harder to swallow than solids, simply because they move faster and are more difficult to manage.

Even if you don't have problems swallowing per se, it's a good idea to be extra alert every time you drink. Discomfort while swallowing can also be caused when food goes down the esophagus like it's supposed to -- it's that feeling that something's caught in your throat, accompanied by an uncomfortable fullness in your upper chest or neck area, but you can still breathe.

If you're violently coughing, though, that's a good indication that the food did, in fact, go down the "wrong pipe," your trachea. So what should you do when food goes "down the wrong pipe"? Don't be afraid to cough when this happens.

Coughing is your natural protective mechanism that will clear your throat -- and it's very powerful. Most of the time, your coughing will get the food or liquid out of your trachea and into your esophagus, a. So don't worry if you don't actually see or feel the food come up.

You can also take small sips of water to help this process along. Once your body knows that it's gotten everything out of the airway, you'll stop coughing, start breathing normally and you'll get your voice back if it was scratchy or restricted.

Moral of the story: Pay attention while you're eating or drinking, and don't fight an urge to cough. But if you consistently have swallowing problems, consult an ENT. Ask Healthy Living! News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. The larynx is the upper opening into the windpipe trachea , the passageway to the lungs. Epiglottis — a flap of soft tissue and cartilage located just above the vocal cords. The epiglottis folds down over the vocal cords to help prevent food and irritants from entering the lungs.

Subglottic space — the space immediately below the vocal cords. It is the narrowest part of the upper airway Review d ate : April Next Steps Contact Us.