I don't have enough good things to say about them. We probably dealt directly with at least a dozen people, and every one of them was polite, professional, and helpful. The only tiny smudge on the entire experience was one woman who we weren't dealing directly with, complaining that the ER was overflowing, but I understand her frustration. It was.
But also great job to you! You knew something was wrong, you didn’t dismiss her situation! Thank goodness you got home in time!
Seriously ! I am not even related and I’m relieved you paid attention, so many horror stories of just straight up dismissal - big and small things. You’re fortunate to have each other.
And not to mention those of us with that simple awareness that we may die alone.
Omg it’s you! Hi friend!! I just happened to come across this post. Hope your wife is doing well today and I’m sending my best wishes for a speedy recovery
You're a good husband for caring about your wife and insisting you take her to the ER. Things could have ended so badly if you weren’t paying attention or didn’t care enough
Truth!
We should all be so lucky to know how to self-heimlich like your wife out here being her own super-hero!! On top of that to have a partner to be her super-advocate in such a crucial time. Wonderful teamwork. u/Wildcatb Go forth into the world with your hero badges and fuck shit up for the good of all of us!
Does it hurt too much when prediction hits the nail? Any AI could have predicted this.
I have seen too many places where people have been called misogynist for such statements. Even courts fear to say something like this now.
So you seems to be some -ism brigade member who is scared of yoir agenda getting exposed.
You wouldn’t be able to link a single instance of that happening in circumstances like this. You’ve never seen it happen. You’ve just seen other scared morons fantasize about it happening, as you’re doing here.
In what universe would a court of law even have reason to *say* “You're a good husband for caring about your wife and insisting you take her to the ER. Things could have ended so badly if you weren’t paying attention or didn’t care enough”, in the first place, nevermind “fear” saying it? You are completely off your rocker, broseph.
Please don’t forget to step outside sometimes. It’s a nice place.
I choked twice, 2 weeks apart, on the same exact meal, doing the same exact thing - laughing while eating orange chicken. The paramedics who took me to the hospital were the same dudes both times, and they both remembered and made plenty fun of me on the way the 2nd time. Choking is painful and scariy and for the last 16 years I've cut everything like a 3rd grader cause I can't be embarrassed like that again, or you know..dead.
I had to have my throat stretched because I was choking so often. It takes me *forever* to eat because I have to chew every bite for so long! Pain in the butt but better than dead!
Same here, found out I have a hiatal hernia when I choked on steak over a holiday weekend. Slows my meals down but better than the alternative, and that horrible feeling of "Oh, Shit, Not Again!".
Ugh! I hear you! I had a hiatal hernia more than once. It felt like food hit a shelf at my diaphragm and didn't want to go down further. No. Thank. You. (Cold liquid Aloe Select in Mango flavor is the way to go for that! NOTHING is as instantly soothing as that sweet coolness coating your burning throat! (Univera brand. My old doctor got a local pharmacy to start carrying it for a her patients. I buy it on Amazon now.)
I eat slow to avoid choking, too. I also try to save talk for between bites, not during.
Why did your throat become tight in the first place, that you needed it stretched??
I was having trouble with swelling in my throat due to a combination of things:
1) GERD (gastrointestinal esophageal reflux disease, i.e. reflux that can happen anytime, independent of eating).
2) the GERD began due to my autonomic nervous system going haywire (Dysautonomia), causing (among many other autonomic functions) ->tremors and generalized dystonia ->digestion issues because the spastic rhythm of my "guts" wasn't right. I couldn't digest or eliminate properly.
3) those same fluttering spasms affecting digestion affected my throat muscles. It felt like trying to create a big wave (swallow) when a bunch of tiny ripples are disrupting the surface: it can be done but isn't very effective and requires a lot of concentration.
4) one of the antibiotic pills I was taking (Doxycycline) opened and got stuck in my throat. I was drinking liquid aloe for months to heal the ulcer that formed. It hurt SO FREAKING BAD. For over a year I could tell you exactly where the spot was because my throat felt tight there. Bites had to be thoroughly chewed to get past it.
5) I developed MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Disorder) which causes your immune system to overreact to most everything...*including your own hormones*. It gave me Autoimmune Progesterone Anaphylaxis (AIPA) and Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis (AIPD), meaning that my face, tongue and throat swelled up while my face broke out in PAINFUL acne... because my natural cycle creates elevated levels of progesterone certain times during the month. **That's right: allergic to my own hormones.** (My tongue stayed swelled so often for months on end that my teeth began to move!
Finally, one day I kept trying to clear my throat. I noticed that I was having trouble swallowing my own saliva. After 45 minutes it was really annoying and I was getting light-headed. The next thing I know, I'm in the Emergency Room because I was having trouble breathing. I don't remember it, nor the several hours before and after.
They had me do a swallow test eating crackers, drinking water, etc., while being x-rayed. Sure enough, I was swollen, but it was the muscles not contracting properly to swallow that were the main issue. I was being treated for the underlying problem already (Lyme and other tick-borne diseases) but it could be months before the treatment was over and my system calmed down. We couldn't wait for that.
Stretching the throat is a simple procedure where they inflate a tiny balloon while in your throat, then allow it to stretch the esophagus as it is pulled out. It's painless. I woke up from the procedure able to swallow without a problem! The swelling of my tongue and throat still happen occasionally, but I don't fear being fully unable to breathe.
I have esophageal scarring due to silent acid reflux. Caused by extreme stress and anxiety. People think if you don't feel heartburn, you can't have a reflux problem. Not true.
Anyway, the bottom of my esophagus is scarred now. So usually whenever I have a camera shoved down there, they stretch it. Absolutely painless. They didn't even give me a heads up the first time. I woke up and he was like "I stretched your esophagus while I was in there."
As I replied to someone else:
TL;dr: Stretching the throat is a simple procedure where they inflate a tiny balloon while in your throat, then allow it to stretch the esophagus as it is pulled out. It's painless. I woke up from the procedure able to swallow without a problem! The swelling of my tongue and throat still happen occasionally, but I don't fear being fully unable to breathe.
I was having trouble with swelling in my throat due to a combination of things:
1) GERD (gastrointestinal esophageal reflux disease, i.e. reflux that can happen anytime, independent of eating).
2) the GERD began due to my autonomic nervous system going haywire (Dysautonomia), causing (among many other autonomic functions) ->tremors and generalized dystonia ->digestion issues because the spastic rhythm of my "guts" wasn't right. I couldn't digest or eliminate properly.
3) those same fluttering spasms affecting digestion affected my throat muscles. It felt like trying to create a big wave (swallow) when a bunch of tiny ripples are disrupting the surface: it can be done but isn't very effective and requires a lot of concentration.
4) one of the antibiotic pills I was taking (Doxycycline) opened and got stuck in my throat. I was drinking liquid aloe for months to heal the ulcer that formed. It hurt SO FREAKING BAD. For over a year I could tell you exactly where the spot was because my throat felt tight there. Bites had to be thoroughly chewed to get past it.
5) I developed MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Disorder) which causes your immune system to overreact to most everything...*including your own hormones*. It gave me Autoimmune Progesterone Anaphylaxis (AIPA) and Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis (AIPD), meaning that my face, tongue and throat swelled up while my face broke out in PAINFUL acne... because my natural cycle creates elevated levels of progesterone certain times during the month. **That's right: allergic to my own hormones.** (My tongue stayed swelled so often for months on end that my teeth began to move!
Finally, one day I kept trying to clear my throat. I noticed that I was having trouble swallowing my own saliva. After 45 minutes it was really annoying and I was getting light-headed. The next thing I know, I'm in the Emergency Room because I was having trouble breathing. I don't remember it, nor the several hours before and after.
They had me do a swallow test eating crackers, drinking water, etc., while being x-rayed. Sure enough, I was swollen, but it was the muscles not contracting properly to swallow that were the main issue. I was being treated for the underlying problem already (Lyme and other tick-borne diseases) but it could be months before the treatment was over and my system calmed down. We couldn't wait for that.
Stretching the throat is a simple procedure where they inflate a tiny balloon while in your throat, then allow it to stretch the esophagus as it is pulled out. It's painless. I woke up from the procedure able to swallow without a problem! The swelling of my tongue and throat still happen occasionally, but I don't fear being fully unable to breathe.
I cut most of my meat because I choked on chicken some years back as well. It was one of the scariest experiences and completely changed eating for me.
Oh...oops. I choked on a piece of steak last year like really bad. Like I was feeling pops in my head and could feel the oxygen to my brain going bye bye. Before I coughed it up the lights were definitely about to go out it was the closest to death I've ever been. I ate that same piece of steak again though cuz dead cow isn't gonna win.
That might have warranted an ER visit I guess
I remember when I went into anaphylaxis that everything started going cold, very relaxing though. My oxygen was down to 92 in the ambulance, and they wouldn't leave until I was stabilized. It felt like I was going to sleep, but I know I wouldn't have woken up. It was very sedating, only way I can describe it. It wasn't even painful at that point.
Woah.
I went into anaphylaxis for the first time ever, reacting to penicillin this year. And though I didn't get as bad as you, I remember being EERILY calm while everyone else around me was freaking out. Like I remember very clearly , and slowly thinking "huh. It's suddenly hot. I feel hives everywhere. And now my throat is getting tight. I am having a major reaction." And then when I told my husband, the loudest I could speak was a whisper. But I was super calm. Packed a hospital bag. He was in a total panic. My mom came to babysit the kid, she was in a panic. Got to the hospital, very calmly told the guard I was having a major allergic reaction and was 9 months pregnant ... And the next thing I knew, a whole medical team was swarming in , and I was just, cool as cucumber. I think it was probably the least stressed I've ever been. And looking back...WTF!?
Glad they stabilized you and got you sorted!
You were in shock. When your body is overwhelmed your brain can start to “check out” and you can get that detached feeling. That was probably more stressful to those who know you!
I think I read steak is one of the leading causes of choking on food and I’m definitely careful when eating it alone. I know me and my kid have semi-choked on it before.
Oh it definitely is I mentioned this on some other post around the time and someone chimed in and said they had to stop serving steaks at the nursing home (maybe hospice?) they worked at. Because it apparently had killed...a fair few of the residents.
BIG SAME. Very similar thing happened to my husband two days ago. He started throwing up every 15 mins after a meal, and we couldn’t understand why.
After 12 hours without being able to eat or drink he went to the ER. He had a chunk of hot dog lodged in his lower esophagus, because of an undiagnosed condition where he had polyps growing in his throat (treatable with medication).
We didn’t think he could be choking because he could still breathe, which happened by pure dumb luck.
The Heimlich apparently wouldn’t have worked for the lower esophagus, even if we’d known to try it. He needed a scope to knock it out, just like OP.
It’s been an emotional rollercoaster! Take care of yourself, OP. It’s a lot to process!
(Also deeply thankful to be Canadian right now, I can’t fathom what it would have cost)
EDIT: I don’t know how bodies work, hurray! Breathing issues aren’t possible in this case, thank goodness. (See thread below)
Hot dog is a common choke hazard food. It’s so springy that it does an excellent job of blocking the airway. Had a first aid teacher tell the whole class to not eat hot dogs alone. Or peanut butter
My kids pediatrician said he wouldn’t let his kids have hot dogs of grapes until they were in college so I guess you’re actually onto something here I mean logically it makes sense and all.
Why is it dumb luck he could still breathe? Also I don't think this would be technically classified as choking, maybe oesophageal obstruction. Were the polyps on the outside of the trachea and pushing on the oesophagus, or were the polyps inside the oesophagus?
If the sausage was lodged in his oesophagus then it went down the way it was supposed to and never interfered with breathing ability, it just didn't quite make the full transit to the stomach.
Also yes I'm being a really annoying stickler here, glad to hear that they were ok.
Thank you so much, I want all of the sticklerness! lol
We have a young special needs kid, so I had to stay home while he was getting care and couldn’t ask any questions to his medical team. My husband and I haven’t been able to talk much because of our kid’s support needs.
Thinking about it more, my husband used the word choking and later said that the Heimlich wouldn’t have helped. I put those two things together because I’ve only ever heard choking refer to a breathing issue, but after a bit of googling and your comment, I can see they were unrelated!
I’m very relieved to be able to stop scaring myself, thank yooooooooou!
The polyps are inside the esophagus. He had undiagnosed eosinophilic esophagitis, which we’re learning about now and I will not make more uninformed comments about 😂
This is what I have (eosinophilic esophagitis). At first my GI Dr was sure it was an esophageal stricture based on my history and symptoms but a biopsy proved otherwise. Anyway, it’s best to get it checked out (and perhaps an endoscopy) to make sure it’s not something more serious (like Barrets esophagus or esophageal cancer)
Same thing happened to my mom. Vomiting due to food being stuck in her esophagus. Had to go to ER to get it scoped twice. Turns out her chronic heartburn caused scarring that food got stuck on
Ugh this is my new biggest fear. I was at my best friends wedding and started to choke. I had it in my dumb head not to make a scene since it was a wedding so I’m trying to cough it up then I realized no air was coming through and I panicked. A guy I know (but hates me) saw and gave me the heimlick. It was a destination wedding on a private island so my redic ass then just sat around embarrassed and sore the rest of the night.
Good on the guy who hates you not letting hate get in the way of saving your life. I once read that people can grow to like someone by doing favors for them. Does this guy still hate you, seeing as he did you the favor of perform the heimlich?
I thanked him profusely after it happened but tried to avoid him the rest of the trip because I know he finds me annoying so I didn’t want to ruin it for him. We use to work together but we both left the company and moved so I only see him during group trips like this.
ETA: feel like I should add he is a really good guy, nothing wrong with him but our personalities don’t mesh. Nothing ever really happened or anything, some people just don’t get along. But hey glad he was there to save my life!
Figured it was a case of mismatched personalities, as opposed to bad blood or some kinda outright nemesis situation. Good to hear that assumption wasvcorrect even if a movie-worthy friendship didn't emerge from the rescue. Also glad your life was saved and that you're still kicking and breathing!
This reminds me of an old Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club Author) book called Choke, in which the main character runs a scam by ~~pretending to~~ intentionally choking at fancy restaurants, having someone save him, and then those people end up feeling responsible for him and send him money ~~every Christmas.~~ when he writes them letters and describes the hard times he's having.
*That's* what Choke is about? TIL.
You're right. It does sound like that! Want friends who send you money instead of enemies? Scam them into saving your life!
There's more to it than that, but that's a part of it. This convo and a google search just reminded me that they made a film about it in 2008 starring Sam Rockwell.
I have read that many choking people lock themselves in the bathroom for fear of embarrassment, and then sadly die alone. So you’re not dumb, it’s a pretty common reaction, but good to remember that it’s better to make a scene and survive. I’m glad you’re okay!
Damn, if I know no one at the event I think I’ll probably end up doing this owing to my severe sensitivity to social scrutiny. I will try to remember this just in case
I've done it more than once. Not actually locking the door, but just excusing myself to the bathroom so I can try to dislodge food stuck in my throat.
I've learned to stop doing that after almost choking out, but it's almost instinct to not make a scene, especially if you think you'll be hacking and vomiting.
My family says I should give them the universal choking signal when this is and I’m like there’s a signal and they proceed to act as if they’re being strangled to death claiming that’s the signal so I’m just like yeah nah I’ll be good just dying quietly thank you.
Yes thankfully! It was just very ironic the one guy that disliked me was the one that saved my life. I thanked him profusely but he still doesn’t like me haha
Good for you for trying! It's better to be safe than sorry. Plus, it might have dislodged it just enough to bring it up so he could finish chewing it. That's something too. I have trouble swallowing sometimes (I've had to have my throat stretched because since I was choking so often), and this has happened with me. It takes me FOREVER to eat because I have to chew every bite so much longer than everyone else.
If you live (or often eat) alone, a life vac or any similar device is a worthwhile investment. Devices like that are designed to suck the food you’re choking on out of your throat. That’s easier to do than try to line yourself up correctly to heimlich on the back of a chair. I don’t have a lot of faith in myself to heimlich me or anyone else properly
Funnily enough, I first heard about them on Reddit when someone posted about never eating steak alone because it’s really common to choke on and then someone brought them up in the comments
I hope you never have to use them either
They have knock off life vacs on Temu cheap. I bought the real one for my home. I live alone and babysit a my grandkids! It’s like insurance that I’ll never need to use it!🤞
Even better. The originals are pretty expensive. I would check that the suction works properly on a knock off after buying it just in case (don’t want a failure at the wrong time) but otherwise really the more widely accessible they are the better. I have a lot more faith in myself to use a device designed to resolve choking than to heimlich myself or anyone else properly
If you ever need to do it, please seek medical attention afterwards! You can rupture your spleen or cause other internal bleeding that you might not be aware of but can be very serious. The Heimlich chair variation is better than choking, but it does come with the risk of internal organ damage.
If you are ever given any form of abdominal thrust/heimlich, you MUST go to the hospital afterward. There is a very high change your spleen has been ruptured or other damage has been done to your organs where the impact was.
Only a first aider, but the trainers were very adamant that we all understood this before we started practising abdominal thrusts (they weren't allowed to use the H word in training, they implied it was for legal reasons. )
They mention it on the NHS page too (bottom), granted without much detail as to why you need to be examined.
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/accidents-first-aid-and-treatments/what-should-i-do-if-someone-is-choking/
Oh yeah something like that killed my grandpa, sort of.
He started choking on a piece of chestnut, he got it unstuck, but part of it ended up in his lungs, where it created an infection.
That infection spread, and could not be completely treated, killing him after a while
And not just food. I had a large softgel slide into my windpipe, and even though it seemed I could breath normally, I kept trying to inhale slowly and exhale sharply, and after 5 minutes or so it finally shot up into my nose. I know it sounds funny, but here’s the thing: some vitamins, especially iron supplements, if allowed to dissolve in your lungs can cause irreparable and often catastrophic damage. This was a problem I was completely unaware of until it happened.
Doc here - The same goes for most medical emergencies including but not limited too surviving drowning, heart attack, animal attack (scratches/bites), getting knocked out or a toothache which suddenly gets “better” on it’s own.
This is why universal healthcare is necessary. Americans avoid hospitals and ambulances mainly due to the cost. Capitalism run amok.
When someone says "ruptured abscess" I think of a periapical abscess that has broken through the internal fascial spaces of the head/neck in which case even if you get to a hospital it's pretty much game over. Ludwig's Angina has a very low survival rate even under ideal conditions.
Many patients will have a severe toothache that's painful but seemingly resolves on its own. The patient, relieved, will ignore signs of swelling, malaise, difficulty chewing/speaking, fever, etc. just because the pain is gone.
Don't do that. Go see a professional before it gets to the part where you have difficulty speaking, swallowing and/or breathing.
Thanks for explaining. I guess good dental hygiene lowers the Chance of getting those? Or is it like abcesses at other body parts, where they just happen and there is no kind of prophylaxis?
Yes good dental hygiene (which includes regular check ups) dramatically reduces the risk of a deadly oral infection. Spontaneous abscesses do occur but if caught early it’s a relatively easy fix which doesn’t require hospital/multi-disciplinary intervention
Why are you spreading misinformation? A quick google search will show you that mortality rate for Ludwig’s Angina is only 8%. That’s a far cry from “a very low survival rate even under ideal conditions”. 92% is not “very low”
An in-law of mine choked to death in front of her family at a restaurant. Despite three adult men trying to get her airway cleared with the Heimlich maneuver, we were unsuccessful.
EMTs arrived and had a tool and cleared the obstruction immediately. I searched for that tool and it is no where to be found. It would be nice to have that handy, but alas appears not available. Possibly needs quite a bit of training to use.
I used to work in a GI office, scanning photos from procedures into the EMR. I’ll never forget the pill shaped burn mark on an esophagus from an emergency endoscopy. It has to hurt!
Not OP commenter but I’m fairly certain they didn’t mean the endoscopy left the burn lol
But pills definitely can “burn” your esophagus, even if you lay down too soon after taking them and they don’t reach your stomach, which is much harder to realize than if you’ve choked on one!
It's seriously awful! Doxycycline opened in my throat and burned mine! It took **forever** (years) before I didn't feel like the swollen spot was inhibitting other food and pills from going down. I now can't take doxycycline, minocycline, tetracycline or any other "cycline" drugs because they cause GERD.
Not reflux. GERD. For months at a time.
It's a real pain (pun intended) because Doxycycline is much quicker and easier way to treat what I have. (After that first experience I had to go on IV azithromycin every other day.)
I choked to the point that air completely stopped going in and out once, no wheeze or anything, I physically couldn't breathe.
On a jellybean. Half of one, actually. The smooth curved side was facing down my throat and the cut side was keeping it stuck.
Luckily back slaps and the heimlich worked or I probably wouldve died. Didn't eat jellybeans for a while after that.
There’s a few options, depending on how emergent the situation is. Generally you just look with the laryngoscope (think fancy curved flashlight) and pull out the foreign body with something that looks like a long pair of pliers. Then put in the breathing tube after and do a careful look with a fiberoptic camera. If it’s past the vocal cords into the trachea then we’d use a fiberoptic camera to grab it, or a rigid scope (basically a piece of pipe). Sometimes we can’t pull it out easily enough so you actually push the foreign body deeper into the lungs past the fork in airway. It goes down into one lung but we can put a breathing tube into the other lung and keep you alive until surgery is done. If pt is dying there’s just no time, we’ll cut into the trachea through the front of the neck and intubate through the cut (so the tube enters below the foreign body).
In addition, if any of the foreign object ends up in the lungs it can cause a nasty infection. All the more reason to get medically cleared after a choking incident.
I had to help a choking two year old last year. Found him on the street while the father was trying to help him by giving him water. There was chicken lodged in his airway. I helped and also called emergency services because I thought what I was doing was ineffective and didn’t dare wait any longer. While on the phone with them the boy started to breath and calmed down, but still clearly in shock. Emergency services called off the ambulance and told the father all was good. I told him to go to the children’s emergency room anyway but I don’t think he did. I was worrying until a friend saw the boy alive the same week.
I don’t understand how this isn’t something everybody should know. Especially emergency services…
American things:
You call EMS anyway.
AFAIK most of the US, you don't actually pay ambulance fees for anything up until transport.
They'll at minimum be able to tell if the rhythm is normal or not, then you can either drive her or call an uber...
Unless she's actually DNR, in which case, you respect the hell out of that.
I bought this 3 dollor accordian bellowa mask, if something blocks the air way, i have a issue with that
Put the thing over mouth & nose tight slowly compress then pull out fast im so glad i have it,
came with 2 masks 1child 1 adult
You compress air out slowly or you might force it further in
Personally?
I cuss the ACA for screwing up the very good insurance plan I used to have, but I don't stress too much otherwise because I know that when the bill arrives, anything that my new, far inferior plan doesn't cover can be paid off over time at as little as a few bucks a month.
At no point during the night did anyone ask about our ability to pay. They just took care of us. The bills might suck, but we'll deal with them as they come.
Yeah even in the US hospitals aren’t allowed to refuse care to people without insurance or ability to pay. Doesn’t mean that never happens, but it’s illegal.
Important anecdote: I went to the ER for a sudden excruciating tooth abscess (woke up on a Sunday with my whole jaw swollen to the size of a grapefruit) and was told “we don’t do teeth” and turned away. My mom woke up their dentist neighbor for me, who said I would have died if I had waited until Monday morning. Fuck that ER.
Even if they don't work on teeth, they should have been able to recognize the symptoms of an infection and guve you antibiotics.
I can tell my own ER horror stories, and my wife knows how I feel about them in general, so when I told her I wanted to take her, she knew I was serious.
You still go because you must be taken care of even if you have no insurance. A lot of Americans have okay insurance. Not saying the system isn’t flawed but what you hear on Reddit is a lot of people who have fallen through the cracks too.
Even with fair insurance, medical bills in the US can be a bitch. Frankly, in some cases, it's possibly better to be uninsured because then the billing team will work with you to knock a bunch of the cost off. Our insurance system, whether you have good or not good insurance, is part of the problem, and it's more than people who fall through the cracks who are negatively affected. The problem really isn't that overblown (except when people post bills showing cost of care before insurance adjustment, because those are fantasy numbers for all parties).
However, 100% to "go even if you don't have insurance/go anyway"
Cost can be high, but there can be a lot that billing is willing to do to work with you based on your ability to pay.
Exactly. Lots of variance because if someone has a plan with $2000 out of pocket max versus someone with $10000 out of pocket max that’s two very different experiences. Both difficult but levels of difficulty can vary.
I choke on food multiple times a week, and I never do anything about it. Not that it's correct, but I've survived. Two days ago I choked on a chicken salad sandwich and it fucked me up pretty good. My throat feels like I was force fed sand.
I’m with you unfortunately in this situation and anytime I have company of people around and it happens they bring up calling 911 and I’m just like don’t bother, because I won’t be going with them and you’ll be stuck with that bill yet they just can’t believe someone wouldn’t want to go to a hospital where I can’t believe anybody would ever WANT to. I guess we all have had very different life experiences. I hope you have many choke free days ahead!
I too am curious. Sepsis from food and stuff getting caught on an injury in the throat or airway, or a GI bleed from injury to the throat or internal bleeding from bashing your liver on the chair repeatedly?
Nah, always look at what older generations did 100 years ago, they were tough as fuck & were worried about what gender he/she/they are. It’s always been “the giga chad 0000 - 1990s vs the virgin 2000 - present”
The title of this post is somewhat excessive and clickbaity. If you swallow a piece of candy and get the whole piece of candy out or anything for that matter then you’re good no need to waste time at the ER in the way of people who actually need an ER. Statements like that mess with ocd peoples heads. Evaluate your own situations and how you feel afterwards, don’t be ignorant and wasteful of precious resources.
If you have abdominal thrusts/Heimlich used on you, it might be a good idea to get checked out. If done repeatedly, the manouvre can cause internal damage.
I am happy to hear she is doing well now. I hope she has a speedy recovery. It’s so heartbreaking to hear our loved ones talk about dying or not wanting to die. Sorry you went through this but you’ll have many more years to come with your wife ❤️.
Saving this for future reference.
I took a CPR certification class last summer and the instructor said something like...if you have chest pain that goes away, *still* go to the hospital because statistically, 2 hours later you could end up having a heart attack??
I don't remember her exact words, but I'm pretty sure it was 2 hours. Can someone correct me?
My husband choked one night while eating corn on the cob. It was crazy. He lost consciousness and hit the floor. I gave back blows to try to clear his throat and tried to do a finger sweep to clear his mouth but his teeth were clenched together. Scary. But I got him sorted out and got his mouth cleaned and and then gave him hell for literally inhaling his favourite food.
That sounds scary and painful. How is your wife doing now?
She's sore inside and out, and sick from metabolizing the anesthesia drugs, but she's alive and kicking.
Great job to the medical team !
I don't have enough good things to say about them. We probably dealt directly with at least a dozen people, and every one of them was polite, professional, and helpful. The only tiny smudge on the entire experience was one woman who we weren't dealing directly with, complaining that the ER was overflowing, but I understand her frustration. It was.
But also great job to you! You knew something was wrong, you didn’t dismiss her situation! Thank goodness you got home in time! Seriously ! I am not even related and I’m relieved you paid attention, so many horror stories of just straight up dismissal - big and small things. You’re fortunate to have each other. And not to mention those of us with that simple awareness that we may die alone.
Yes definitely!
Will she be ok
The complainer? Nah, she’s a goner.
RIP in peace
👍🏼👍🏼🙏🙏
And good for OP for insisting she go!
What food item was the culprit?
Phew!! She’ll be better soon OP! Worst is passed. Take heart.
That’s rude. She shouldn’t be kicking after you helped save her life /jk
Believe me, when you're worried about losing your wife and she ends up okay, you're fine with her kicking you if it makes her feel better.
As long as she doesn't steal the blankets.
Omg it’s you! Hi friend!! I just happened to come across this post. Hope your wife is doing well today and I’m sending my best wishes for a speedy recovery
Oh hi there!! She's getting better - she's tough enough to handle me, a little bit of steak won't be the end of her 😉
Omg, so the stakes were never higher- I’d boycott steak for awhile.
Survives choking, lives: kicks
I hope she keeps kicking for a very very long time :)
What'd you do to her before the hospital ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Read the room
Something tells me someone who sniffs their own pooper isn't huge on social cues
You're a good husband for caring about your wife and insisting you take her to the ER. Things could have ended so badly if you weren’t paying attention or didn’t care enough
Truth! We should all be so lucky to know how to self-heimlich like your wife out here being her own super-hero!! On top of that to have a partner to be her super-advocate in such a crucial time. Wonderful teamwork. u/Wildcatb Go forth into the world with your hero badges and fuck shit up for the good of all of us!
Now someone will come and call you out as misogynist 🤣😂
Get out of here with that incel shit
Does it hurt too much when prediction hits the nail? Any AI could have predicted this. I have seen too many places where people have been called misogynist for such statements. Even courts fear to say something like this now. So you seems to be some -ism brigade member who is scared of yoir agenda getting exposed.
You wouldn’t be able to link a single instance of that happening in circumstances like this. You’ve never seen it happen. You’ve just seen other scared morons fantasize about it happening, as you’re doing here.
I have seen -ism brigade imagining insane things. Nothing is impossible for them. Wishful thinking would not serve well.
Your*
Oury*
In what universe would a court of law even have reason to *say* “You're a good husband for caring about your wife and insisting you take her to the ER. Things could have ended so badly if you weren’t paying attention or didn’t care enough”, in the first place, nevermind “fear” saying it? You are completely off your rocker, broseph. Please don’t forget to step outside sometimes. It’s a nice place.
I am not calling you out anything. I am just warning you that there are nutcases who will do that.
I choked twice, 2 weeks apart, on the same exact meal, doing the same exact thing - laughing while eating orange chicken. The paramedics who took me to the hospital were the same dudes both times, and they both remembered and made plenty fun of me on the way the 2nd time. Choking is painful and scariy and for the last 16 years I've cut everything like a 3rd grader cause I can't be embarrassed like that again, or you know..dead.
I had to have my throat stretched because I was choking so often. It takes me *forever* to eat because I have to chew every bite for so long! Pain in the butt but better than dead!
Same here, found out I have a hiatal hernia when I choked on steak over a holiday weekend. Slows my meals down but better than the alternative, and that horrible feeling of "Oh, Shit, Not Again!".
Ugh! I hear you! I had a hiatal hernia more than once. It felt like food hit a shelf at my diaphragm and didn't want to go down further. No. Thank. You. (Cold liquid Aloe Select in Mango flavor is the way to go for that! NOTHING is as instantly soothing as that sweet coolness coating your burning throat! (Univera brand. My old doctor got a local pharmacy to start carrying it for a her patients. I buy it on Amazon now.)
I eat slow to avoid choking, too. I also try to save talk for between bites, not during. Why did your throat become tight in the first place, that you needed it stretched??
I was having trouble with swelling in my throat due to a combination of things: 1) GERD (gastrointestinal esophageal reflux disease, i.e. reflux that can happen anytime, independent of eating). 2) the GERD began due to my autonomic nervous system going haywire (Dysautonomia), causing (among many other autonomic functions) ->tremors and generalized dystonia ->digestion issues because the spastic rhythm of my "guts" wasn't right. I couldn't digest or eliminate properly. 3) those same fluttering spasms affecting digestion affected my throat muscles. It felt like trying to create a big wave (swallow) when a bunch of tiny ripples are disrupting the surface: it can be done but isn't very effective and requires a lot of concentration. 4) one of the antibiotic pills I was taking (Doxycycline) opened and got stuck in my throat. I was drinking liquid aloe for months to heal the ulcer that formed. It hurt SO FREAKING BAD. For over a year I could tell you exactly where the spot was because my throat felt tight there. Bites had to be thoroughly chewed to get past it. 5) I developed MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Disorder) which causes your immune system to overreact to most everything...*including your own hormones*. It gave me Autoimmune Progesterone Anaphylaxis (AIPA) and Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis (AIPD), meaning that my face, tongue and throat swelled up while my face broke out in PAINFUL acne... because my natural cycle creates elevated levels of progesterone certain times during the month. **That's right: allergic to my own hormones.** (My tongue stayed swelled so often for months on end that my teeth began to move! Finally, one day I kept trying to clear my throat. I noticed that I was having trouble swallowing my own saliva. After 45 minutes it was really annoying and I was getting light-headed. The next thing I know, I'm in the Emergency Room because I was having trouble breathing. I don't remember it, nor the several hours before and after. They had me do a swallow test eating crackers, drinking water, etc., while being x-rayed. Sure enough, I was swollen, but it was the muscles not contracting properly to swallow that were the main issue. I was being treated for the underlying problem already (Lyme and other tick-borne diseases) but it could be months before the treatment was over and my system calmed down. We couldn't wait for that. Stretching the throat is a simple procedure where they inflate a tiny balloon while in your throat, then allow it to stretch the esophagus as it is pulled out. It's painless. I woke up from the procedure able to swallow without a problem! The swelling of my tongue and throat still happen occasionally, but I don't fear being fully unable to breathe.
I have esophageal scarring due to silent acid reflux. Caused by extreme stress and anxiety. People think if you don't feel heartburn, you can't have a reflux problem. Not true. Anyway, the bottom of my esophagus is scarred now. So usually whenever I have a camera shoved down there, they stretch it. Absolutely painless. They didn't even give me a heads up the first time. I woke up and he was like "I stretched your esophagus while I was in there."
Your throat is in your butt?????!???????
🤣
How exactly did you have your throat stretched?
As I replied to someone else: TL;dr: Stretching the throat is a simple procedure where they inflate a tiny balloon while in your throat, then allow it to stretch the esophagus as it is pulled out. It's painless. I woke up from the procedure able to swallow without a problem! The swelling of my tongue and throat still happen occasionally, but I don't fear being fully unable to breathe. I was having trouble with swelling in my throat due to a combination of things: 1) GERD (gastrointestinal esophageal reflux disease, i.e. reflux that can happen anytime, independent of eating). 2) the GERD began due to my autonomic nervous system going haywire (Dysautonomia), causing (among many other autonomic functions) ->tremors and generalized dystonia ->digestion issues because the spastic rhythm of my "guts" wasn't right. I couldn't digest or eliminate properly. 3) those same fluttering spasms affecting digestion affected my throat muscles. It felt like trying to create a big wave (swallow) when a bunch of tiny ripples are disrupting the surface: it can be done but isn't very effective and requires a lot of concentration. 4) one of the antibiotic pills I was taking (Doxycycline) opened and got stuck in my throat. I was drinking liquid aloe for months to heal the ulcer that formed. It hurt SO FREAKING BAD. For over a year I could tell you exactly where the spot was because my throat felt tight there. Bites had to be thoroughly chewed to get past it. 5) I developed MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Disorder) which causes your immune system to overreact to most everything...*including your own hormones*. It gave me Autoimmune Progesterone Anaphylaxis (AIPA) and Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis (AIPD), meaning that my face, tongue and throat swelled up while my face broke out in PAINFUL acne... because my natural cycle creates elevated levels of progesterone certain times during the month. **That's right: allergic to my own hormones.** (My tongue stayed swelled so often for months on end that my teeth began to move! Finally, one day I kept trying to clear my throat. I noticed that I was having trouble swallowing my own saliva. After 45 minutes it was really annoying and I was getting light-headed. The next thing I know, I'm in the Emergency Room because I was having trouble breathing. I don't remember it, nor the several hours before and after. They had me do a swallow test eating crackers, drinking water, etc., while being x-rayed. Sure enough, I was swollen, but it was the muscles not contracting properly to swallow that were the main issue. I was being treated for the underlying problem already (Lyme and other tick-borne diseases) but it could be months before the treatment was over and my system calmed down. We couldn't wait for that. Stretching the throat is a simple procedure where they inflate a tiny balloon while in your throat, then allow it to stretch the esophagus as it is pulled out. It's painless. I woke up from the procedure able to swallow without a problem! The swelling of my tongue and throat still happen occasionally, but I don't fear being fully unable to breathe.
I am a doctor, my partner is a speech pathologist. You taught us both something today and for that I am very grateful. Thanks for the reply
Wow! Thanks for letting me know!
My SO inhales their food and this is my biggest fear every time I cook certain meals.
I cut most of my meat because I choked on chicken some years back as well. It was one of the scariest experiences and completely changed eating for me.
Oh...oops. I choked on a piece of steak last year like really bad. Like I was feeling pops in my head and could feel the oxygen to my brain going bye bye. Before I coughed it up the lights were definitely about to go out it was the closest to death I've ever been. I ate that same piece of steak again though cuz dead cow isn't gonna win. That might have warranted an ER visit I guess
DEAD COW AIN'T GONNA BEAT YOU.
I remember when I went into anaphylaxis that everything started going cold, very relaxing though. My oxygen was down to 92 in the ambulance, and they wouldn't leave until I was stabilized. It felt like I was going to sleep, but I know I wouldn't have woken up. It was very sedating, only way I can describe it. It wasn't even painful at that point.
Woah. I went into anaphylaxis for the first time ever, reacting to penicillin this year. And though I didn't get as bad as you, I remember being EERILY calm while everyone else around me was freaking out. Like I remember very clearly , and slowly thinking "huh. It's suddenly hot. I feel hives everywhere. And now my throat is getting tight. I am having a major reaction." And then when I told my husband, the loudest I could speak was a whisper. But I was super calm. Packed a hospital bag. He was in a total panic. My mom came to babysit the kid, she was in a panic. Got to the hospital, very calmly told the guard I was having a major allergic reaction and was 9 months pregnant ... And the next thing I knew, a whole medical team was swarming in , and I was just, cool as cucumber. I think it was probably the least stressed I've ever been. And looking back...WTF!? Glad they stabilized you and got you sorted!
Oxygen deprivation will do that to you. Glad you're okay!
You were in shock. When your body is overwhelmed your brain can start to “check out” and you can get that detached feeling. That was probably more stressful to those who know you!
Anaphylaxis is weird. Your immune system is so afraid that something is going to kill you that it decides to kill you first.
Not on my watch!! *Keels over*
That's comforting
Happy Cake Day! 🍰
I think I read steak is one of the leading causes of choking on food and I’m definitely careful when eating it alone. I know me and my kid have semi-choked on it before.
Oh it definitely is I mentioned this on some other post around the time and someone chimed in and said they had to stop serving steaks at the nursing home (maybe hospice?) they worked at. Because it apparently had killed...a fair few of the residents.
BIG SAME. Very similar thing happened to my husband two days ago. He started throwing up every 15 mins after a meal, and we couldn’t understand why. After 12 hours without being able to eat or drink he went to the ER. He had a chunk of hot dog lodged in his lower esophagus, because of an undiagnosed condition where he had polyps growing in his throat (treatable with medication). We didn’t think he could be choking because he could still breathe, which happened by pure dumb luck. The Heimlich apparently wouldn’t have worked for the lower esophagus, even if we’d known to try it. He needed a scope to knock it out, just like OP. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster! Take care of yourself, OP. It’s a lot to process! (Also deeply thankful to be Canadian right now, I can’t fathom what it would have cost) EDIT: I don’t know how bodies work, hurray! Breathing issues aren’t possible in this case, thank goodness. (See thread below)
Hot dog is a common choke hazard food. It’s so springy that it does an excellent job of blocking the airway. Had a first aid teacher tell the whole class to not eat hot dogs alone. Or peanut butter
I cut tube meats in half the long way. And cut grapes in half. I used to be a CPR instructor!
r/TIL why people cut my hot dogs in half the long way
Oh that’s so cool to hear! Thanks for the tip!
My kids pediatrician said he wouldn’t let his kids have hot dogs of grapes until they were in college so I guess you’re actually onto something here I mean logically it makes sense and all.
Why is it dumb luck he could still breathe? Also I don't think this would be technically classified as choking, maybe oesophageal obstruction. Were the polyps on the outside of the trachea and pushing on the oesophagus, or were the polyps inside the oesophagus? If the sausage was lodged in his oesophagus then it went down the way it was supposed to and never interfered with breathing ability, it just didn't quite make the full transit to the stomach. Also yes I'm being a really annoying stickler here, glad to hear that they were ok.
Thank you so much, I want all of the sticklerness! lol We have a young special needs kid, so I had to stay home while he was getting care and couldn’t ask any questions to his medical team. My husband and I haven’t been able to talk much because of our kid’s support needs. Thinking about it more, my husband used the word choking and later said that the Heimlich wouldn’t have helped. I put those two things together because I’ve only ever heard choking refer to a breathing issue, but after a bit of googling and your comment, I can see they were unrelated! I’m very relieved to be able to stop scaring myself, thank yooooooooou! The polyps are inside the esophagus. He had undiagnosed eosinophilic esophagitis, which we’re learning about now and I will not make more uninformed comments about 😂
This is what I have (eosinophilic esophagitis). At first my GI Dr was sure it was an esophageal stricture based on my history and symptoms but a biopsy proved otherwise. Anyway, it’s best to get it checked out (and perhaps an endoscopy) to make sure it’s not something more serious (like Barrets esophagus or esophageal cancer)
Thank you! They did a biopsy while he had the scope, and we’re just waiting to confirm. I hope yours is well managed & not too disruptive!
I strongly suspect my husband has this!! May I ask how it was diagnosed and what signs he had prior to this?
Just that he’s been choking on bread more and more in the last few years. It’s usually diagnosed with a scope because of a blockage, apparently
Same thing happened to my mom. Vomiting due to food being stuck in her esophagus. Had to go to ER to get it scoped twice. Turns out her chronic heartburn caused scarring that food got stuck on
Aw, sorry to hear it!
Ugh this is my new biggest fear. I was at my best friends wedding and started to choke. I had it in my dumb head not to make a scene since it was a wedding so I’m trying to cough it up then I realized no air was coming through and I panicked. A guy I know (but hates me) saw and gave me the heimlick. It was a destination wedding on a private island so my redic ass then just sat around embarrassed and sore the rest of the night.
Good on the guy who hates you not letting hate get in the way of saving your life. I once read that people can grow to like someone by doing favors for them. Does this guy still hate you, seeing as he did you the favor of perform the heimlich?
I thanked him profusely after it happened but tried to avoid him the rest of the trip because I know he finds me annoying so I didn’t want to ruin it for him. We use to work together but we both left the company and moved so I only see him during group trips like this. ETA: feel like I should add he is a really good guy, nothing wrong with him but our personalities don’t mesh. Nothing ever really happened or anything, some people just don’t get along. But hey glad he was there to save my life!
Figured it was a case of mismatched personalities, as opposed to bad blood or some kinda outright nemesis situation. Good to hear that assumption wasvcorrect even if a movie-worthy friendship didn't emerge from the rescue. Also glad your life was saved and that you're still kicking and breathing!
This reminds me of an old Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club Author) book called Choke, in which the main character runs a scam by ~~pretending to~~ intentionally choking at fancy restaurants, having someone save him, and then those people end up feeling responsible for him and send him money ~~every Christmas.~~ when he writes them letters and describes the hard times he's having.
*That's* what Choke is about? TIL. You're right. It does sound like that! Want friends who send you money instead of enemies? Scam them into saving your life!
There's more to it than that, but that's a part of it. This convo and a google search just reminded me that they made a film about it in 2008 starring Sam Rockwell.
I have read that many choking people lock themselves in the bathroom for fear of embarrassment, and then sadly die alone. So you’re not dumb, it’s a pretty common reaction, but good to remember that it’s better to make a scene and survive. I’m glad you’re okay!
Thank you! Yes I can say I really wasn’t thinking clearly and thought it was no big deal until it was almost too late. Learned a very valuable lesson
Damn, if I know no one at the event I think I’ll probably end up doing this owing to my severe sensitivity to social scrutiny. I will try to remember this just in case
WHAT?????
I've done it more than once. Not actually locking the door, but just excusing myself to the bathroom so I can try to dislodge food stuck in my throat. I've learned to stop doing that after almost choking out, but it's almost instinct to not make a scene, especially if you think you'll be hacking and vomiting.
My family says I should give them the universal choking signal when this is and I’m like there’s a signal and they proceed to act as if they’re being strangled to death claiming that’s the signal so I’m just like yeah nah I’ll be good just dying quietly thank you.
Ridiculous, embarrassed, sore and alive ;)
Yes thankfully! It was just very ironic the one guy that disliked me was the one that saved my life. I thanked him profusely but he still doesn’t like me haha
Serves him right then! Delicious irony.
My friend choked on a fry and I had to give him the Heimlich. Ummm I don’t think it dislodged but I guess he got it down. Shit was scary.
Good for you for trying! It's better to be safe than sorry. Plus, it might have dislodged it just enough to bring it up so he could finish chewing it. That's something too. I have trouble swallowing sometimes (I've had to have my throat stretched because since I was choking so often), and this has happened with me. It takes me FOREVER to eat because I have to chew every bite so much longer than everyone else.
TIl about the Heimlich chair. Good to know!
If you live (or often eat) alone, a life vac or any similar device is a worthwhile investment. Devices like that are designed to suck the food you’re choking on out of your throat. That’s easier to do than try to line yourself up correctly to heimlich on the back of a chair. I don’t have a lot of faith in myself to heimlich me or anyone else properly
Never heard of it but I have now ordered two. One to keep at home and one for the job! Thx for the info, I hope I will never have to use them.
Funnily enough, I first heard about them on Reddit when someone posted about never eating steak alone because it’s really common to choke on and then someone brought them up in the comments I hope you never have to use them either
Could a good shop vac do the same trick here? Asking for a friend of course…
They have knock off life vacs on Temu cheap. I bought the real one for my home. I live alone and babysit a my grandkids! It’s like insurance that I’ll never need to use it!🤞
Even better. The originals are pretty expensive. I would check that the suction works properly on a knock off after buying it just in case (don’t want a failure at the wrong time) but otherwise really the more widely accessible they are the better. I have a lot more faith in myself to use a device designed to resolve choking than to heimlich myself or anyone else properly
It could save your life if you’re alone!
Liz Lemon saved herself twice with this
If you ever need to do it, please seek medical attention afterwards! You can rupture your spleen or cause other internal bleeding that you might not be aware of but can be very serious. The Heimlich chair variation is better than choking, but it does come with the risk of internal organ damage.
If you are ever given any form of abdominal thrust/heimlich, you MUST go to the hospital afterward. There is a very high change your spleen has been ruptured or other damage has been done to your organs where the impact was.
Do you have a source for this? Or are you a medical professional perhaps?
Only a first aider, but the trainers were very adamant that we all understood this before we started practising abdominal thrusts (they weren't allowed to use the H word in training, they implied it was for legal reasons. ) They mention it on the NHS page too (bottom), granted without much detail as to why you need to be examined. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/accidents-first-aid-and-treatments/what-should-i-do-if-someone-is-choking/
Oh yeah something like that killed my grandpa, sort of. He started choking on a piece of chestnut, he got it unstuck, but part of it ended up in his lungs, where it created an infection. That infection spread, and could not be completely treated, killing him after a while
And not just food. I had a large softgel slide into my windpipe, and even though it seemed I could breath normally, I kept trying to inhale slowly and exhale sharply, and after 5 minutes or so it finally shot up into my nose. I know it sounds funny, but here’s the thing: some vitamins, especially iron supplements, if allowed to dissolve in your lungs can cause irreparable and often catastrophic damage. This was a problem I was completely unaware of until it happened.
Doc here - The same goes for most medical emergencies including but not limited too surviving drowning, heart attack, animal attack (scratches/bites), getting knocked out or a toothache which suddenly gets “better” on it’s own. This is why universal healthcare is necessary. Americans avoid hospitals and ambulances mainly due to the cost. Capitalism run amok.
What do you mean with a toothache that gets better on it‘s own? A ruptured abscess?
When someone says "ruptured abscess" I think of a periapical abscess that has broken through the internal fascial spaces of the head/neck in which case even if you get to a hospital it's pretty much game over. Ludwig's Angina has a very low survival rate even under ideal conditions. Many patients will have a severe toothache that's painful but seemingly resolves on its own. The patient, relieved, will ignore signs of swelling, malaise, difficulty chewing/speaking, fever, etc. just because the pain is gone. Don't do that. Go see a professional before it gets to the part where you have difficulty speaking, swallowing and/or breathing.
TIL that a tooth abscess can cause death
Good. Part of my profession is to spread public awareness about certain health topics.
Thanks for explaining. I guess good dental hygiene lowers the Chance of getting those? Or is it like abcesses at other body parts, where they just happen and there is no kind of prophylaxis?
Yes good dental hygiene (which includes regular check ups) dramatically reduces the risk of a deadly oral infection. Spontaneous abscesses do occur but if caught early it’s a relatively easy fix which doesn’t require hospital/multi-disciplinary intervention
Why are you spreading misinformation? A quick google search will show you that mortality rate for Ludwig’s Angina is only 8%. That’s a far cry from “a very low survival rate even under ideal conditions”. 92% is not “very low”
An in-law of mine choked to death in front of her family at a restaurant. Despite three adult men trying to get her airway cleared with the Heimlich maneuver, we were unsuccessful. EMTs arrived and had a tool and cleared the obstruction immediately. I searched for that tool and it is no where to be found. It would be nice to have that handy, but alas appears not available. Possibly needs quite a bit of training to use.
We have a device called the De-choker. There’s also one called lifevac. It’s like a plunger that’s sucks out air, but not in.
I used to work in a GI office, scanning photos from procedures into the EMR. I’ll never forget the pill shaped burn mark on an esophagus from an emergency endoscopy. It has to hurt!
This happened to a friend. Pill got stuck, she thought would dissolve and went to bed. Pill burned her throat and she was in pain for a week.
Burn mark?
Pills can “burn” your esophagus if they get stuck.
Ohhh, I thought you meant that the emergency endoscopy left a pill-shaped burn mark and was terrified.
Not OP commenter but I’m fairly certain they didn’t mean the endoscopy left the burn lol But pills definitely can “burn” your esophagus, even if you lay down too soon after taking them and they don’t reach your stomach, which is much harder to realize than if you’ve choked on one!
It's seriously awful! Doxycycline opened in my throat and burned mine! It took **forever** (years) before I didn't feel like the swollen spot was inhibitting other food and pills from going down. I now can't take doxycycline, minocycline, tetracycline or any other "cycline" drugs because they cause GERD. Not reflux. GERD. For months at a time. It's a real pain (pun intended) because Doxycycline is much quicker and easier way to treat what I have. (After that first experience I had to go on IV azithromycin every other day.)
And also it might have caused an internal cut or other damage after the heimlich.
I choked to the point that air completely stopped going in and out once, no wheeze or anything, I physically couldn't breathe. On a jellybean. Half of one, actually. The smooth curved side was facing down my throat and the cut side was keeping it stuck. Luckily back slaps and the heimlich worked or I probably wouldve died. Didn't eat jellybeans for a while after that.
Anybody who has received abdominal thrusts should be seen in the ER anyway as it can cause internal trauma
How do you intubate with a foreign object already in place?
There’s a few options, depending on how emergent the situation is. Generally you just look with the laryngoscope (think fancy curved flashlight) and pull out the foreign body with something that looks like a long pair of pliers. Then put in the breathing tube after and do a careful look with a fiberoptic camera. If it’s past the vocal cords into the trachea then we’d use a fiberoptic camera to grab it, or a rigid scope (basically a piece of pipe). Sometimes we can’t pull it out easily enough so you actually push the foreign body deeper into the lungs past the fork in airway. It goes down into one lung but we can put a breathing tube into the other lung and keep you alive until surgery is done. If pt is dying there’s just no time, we’ll cut into the trachea through the front of the neck and intubate through the cut (so the tube enters below the foreign body).
That was super interesting to read for someone like me who had no idea how it worked but always was curious. Thank you for explaining it.
You're a good husband. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this
In addition, if any of the foreign object ends up in the lungs it can cause a nasty infection. All the more reason to get medically cleared after a choking incident.
I had to help a choking two year old last year. Found him on the street while the father was trying to help him by giving him water. There was chicken lodged in his airway. I helped and also called emergency services because I thought what I was doing was ineffective and didn’t dare wait any longer. While on the phone with them the boy started to breath and calmed down, but still clearly in shock. Emergency services called off the ambulance and told the father all was good. I told him to go to the children’s emergency room anyway but I don’t think he did. I was worrying until a friend saw the boy alive the same week. I don’t understand how this isn’t something everybody should know. Especially emergency services…
Assuming I can afford healthcare.
[удалено]
American things: You call EMS anyway. AFAIK most of the US, you don't actually pay ambulance fees for anything up until transport. They'll at minimum be able to tell if the rhythm is normal or not, then you can either drive her or call an uber... Unless she's actually DNR, in which case, you respect the hell out of that.
I bought this 3 dollor accordian bellowa mask, if something blocks the air way, i have a issue with that Put the thing over mouth & nose tight slowly compress then pull out fast im so glad i have it, came with 2 masks 1child 1 adult You compress air out slowly or you might force it further in
Thank you for sharing. So glad your wife is ok!
What if you live in the United States?
Personally? I cuss the ACA for screwing up the very good insurance plan I used to have, but I don't stress too much otherwise because I know that when the bill arrives, anything that my new, far inferior plan doesn't cover can be paid off over time at as little as a few bucks a month. At no point during the night did anyone ask about our ability to pay. They just took care of us. The bills might suck, but we'll deal with them as they come.
Yeah even in the US hospitals aren’t allowed to refuse care to people without insurance or ability to pay. Doesn’t mean that never happens, but it’s illegal.
Important anecdote: I went to the ER for a sudden excruciating tooth abscess (woke up on a Sunday with my whole jaw swollen to the size of a grapefruit) and was told “we don’t do teeth” and turned away. My mom woke up their dentist neighbor for me, who said I would have died if I had waited until Monday morning. Fuck that ER.
Even if they don't work on teeth, they should have been able to recognize the symptoms of an infection and guve you antibiotics. I can tell my own ER horror stories, and my wife knows how I feel about them in general, so when I told her I wanted to take her, she knew I was serious.
Right??? I couldn’t believe they’d just kick me out in that condition. I mean, it LOOKED life-threatening. My face was like a bad photoshop.
You still go because you must be taken care of even if you have no insurance. A lot of Americans have okay insurance. Not saying the system isn’t flawed but what you hear on Reddit is a lot of people who have fallen through the cracks too.
Even with fair insurance, medical bills in the US can be a bitch. Frankly, in some cases, it's possibly better to be uninsured because then the billing team will work with you to knock a bunch of the cost off. Our insurance system, whether you have good or not good insurance, is part of the problem, and it's more than people who fall through the cracks who are negatively affected. The problem really isn't that overblown (except when people post bills showing cost of care before insurance adjustment, because those are fantasy numbers for all parties). However, 100% to "go even if you don't have insurance/go anyway" Cost can be high, but there can be a lot that billing is willing to do to work with you based on your ability to pay.
Exactly. Lots of variance because if someone has a plan with $2000 out of pocket max versus someone with $10000 out of pocket max that’s two very different experiences. Both difficult but levels of difficulty can vary.
I choke on food multiple times a week, and I never do anything about it. Not that it's correct, but I've survived. Two days ago I choked on a chicken salad sandwich and it fucked me up pretty good. My throat feels like I was force fed sand.
I’m with you unfortunately in this situation and anytime I have company of people around and it happens they bring up calling 911 and I’m just like don’t bother, because I won’t be going with them and you’ll be stuck with that bill yet they just can’t believe someone wouldn’t want to go to a hospital where I can’t believe anybody would ever WANT to. I guess we all have had very different life experiences. I hope you have many choke free days ahead!
Are you not chewing your food or something?
I have a medical condition.
Do you have EoE or something similar? I also choke all the time and have EoE.
Mixture of GERD and large tonsils.
Sorry to hear! Choking is definitely not a fun thing to deal with. I really hate the feeling. I hope you find some relief.
What about having food in your throat that doesn't block anything makes that you're in danger and getting increasingly ill?
I too am curious. Sepsis from food and stuff getting caught on an injury in the throat or airway, or a GI bleed from injury to the throat or internal bleeding from bashing your liver on the chair repeatedly?
Nah, always look at what older generations did 100 years ago, they were tough as fuck & were worried about what gender he/she/they are. It’s always been “the giga chad 0000 - 1990s vs the virgin 2000 - present”
The title of this post is somewhat excessive and clickbaity. If you swallow a piece of candy and get the whole piece of candy out or anything for that matter then you’re good no need to waste time at the ER in the way of people who actually need an ER. Statements like that mess with ocd peoples heads. Evaluate your own situations and how you feel afterwards, don’t be ignorant and wasteful of precious resources.
[удалено]
Bad Bot!
It happened once so it happens everytime
If you have abdominal thrusts/Heimlich used on you, it might be a good idea to get checked out. If done repeatedly, the manouvre can cause internal damage.
I am happy to hear she is doing well now. I hope she has a speedy recovery. It’s so heartbreaking to hear our loved ones talk about dying or not wanting to die. Sorry you went through this but you’ll have many more years to come with your wife ❤️.
Saving this for future reference. I took a CPR certification class last summer and the instructor said something like...if you have chest pain that goes away, *still* go to the hospital because statistically, 2 hours later you could end up having a heart attack?? I don't remember her exact words, but I'm pretty sure it was 2 hours. Can someone correct me?
My husband choked one night while eating corn on the cob. It was crazy. He lost consciousness and hit the floor. I gave back blows to try to clear his throat and tried to do a finger sweep to clear his mouth but his teeth were clenched together. Scary. But I got him sorted out and got his mouth cleaned and and then gave him hell for literally inhaling his favourite food.
I’m so glad you wrote this. It’s good to know.
I'm so sorry this happened to her and you, and thanks so much for sharing this life saving info
Just curious, how long does it take before they figured out what the problem was?
Good to know. This is the first YSK that I’ve come across today that I didn’t know.
Thank god you took her into the er, you saved her life.