# Can overeating cause coughing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893 "2013-04-17T01:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/1 "2013-04-17T01:00:34Z")
Last week, I went to a buffet and really overate. Then, I got a cough for what seemed no reason. I took a sip of soda and then made myself burp several times. This stopped the coughing. Later, I wondered if my full stomach pressing against my diaphragm had caused the cough as I have no history of acid reflux or other similar digestive disorders, which is all I could find relating coughing and eating. I’m not asking for a medical diagnosis, just information that I can’t seem to find. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/2 "2013-04-17T05:19:54Z")
Do you remember the last thing you ate, prior to the coughing? Was it extremely sweet? I had a thread on that a long time ago, and I don’t think there was much of a conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/3 "2013-04-17T12:30:30Z")
Could be you aspirated a bit of food that refluxed up from your loathsomely bloated stomach, resulting in a cough. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/4 "2013-04-18T21:06:37Z")
You might be onto something with the diaphragm pressure but I have no idea. I’ve sometimes gotten a slight cough when drinking something very cold, but that doesn’t sound like what you described. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/5 "2013-04-18T21:55:02Z")
Acid reflux can definitely cause coughing. It might also be related to overeating. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/6 "2013-04-18T22:17:16Z")
Diaphragm irritation usually causes hiccups (if anything). The c-fibers responsible for the cough reflex are located in the upper airway (trachea, bonchii and bronchioles). Reflux/aspiration would be my guess as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/7 "2013-04-19T02:07:47Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > … Reflux/aspiration would be my guess as well. I’m more familiar with that concept than I’d like to be :mad: but a question: I had thought that such cough would be more common when lying down, as in you wouldn’t be aware of the reflux but just of the resulting cough. Am I mistaken? (that’s what led to an ACE inhibitor side effect being misdiagnosed as GERD in my case). ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-overeating-cause-coughing/655893/8 "2013-04-19T02:52:32Z")
Could it just be coincidence? Perhaps it’s allergy to pollen in the air that just took a few minutes before it made you react. Or a mild food allergy.