What happens if a bit of food gets in your lungs?
When food, drink, or stomach contents make their way into your lungs, they can damage the tissues there. The damage can sometimes be severe. Aspiration also increases your risk of pneumonia. This is an infection of the lungs that causes fluid to build up in the lungs.
How do I get food out of my lungs?
Ways to clear the lungs
- Steam therapy. Steam therapy, or steam inhalation, involves inhaling water vapor to open the airways and help the lungs drain mucus.
- Controlled coughing.
- Drain mucus from the lungs.
- Exercise.
- Green tea.
- Anti-inflammatory foods.
- Chest percussion.
What does it feel like to have food stuck in your lungs?
You may experience a sudden cough as your lungs try to clear out the substance. Some people may wheeze, have trouble breathing, or have a hoarse voice after they eat, drink, vomit, or experience heartburn. You may have chronic aspiration if this occurs frequently.
Can you accidentally suck food into your lungs?
The health condition, called pulmonary aspiration, happens when a person accidentally inhales a foreign substance, such as food or drink, into their lungs. Symptoms can vary in severity, but people are often able to cough up the inhaled material. Inhaling harmful substances can lead to complications such as pneumonia.
How long after aspiration does pneumonia occur?
The symptoms usually take between 1 and 4 weeks to appear, according to the CDC.
Can you get a piece of food in your lung?
Pulmonary aspiration is when you inhale food, stomach acid, or saliva into your lungs. You can also aspirate food that travels back up from your stomach to your esophagus. All of these things may carry bacteria that affect your lungs. Healthy lungs can clear up on their own.
How do I know if I aspirated food?
Aspiration Symptoms
- Feel something stuck in your throat.
- Hurt when you swallow, or it’s hard to do.
- Cough while or after you eat or drink.
- Feel congested after you eat or drink.
- Have a gurgling or “wet-sounding” voice when you eat.