# coughing when eating sweets **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771 "2003-06-27T15:44:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [June 27, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/1 "2003-06-27T15:44:02Z")
Whenever I’m eating something very sweet, with a concentrated sweetness, I start coughing and my eyes water. I thought it was some sort of allergy, but it doesn’t matter what the ingredients are, or whether it contains sugar in any form or any type of artificial sweetener. It’s just the sweetness itself that makes me cough. Can anyone explain this? ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/2 "2003-06-27T16:04:03Z")
I have this problem occassionally, also. Possibly someone can come up with an answer. Bob ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/3 "2003-06-30T13:46:36Z")
I cough like mad when I eat ice cream, sherbet, or anything ice-cream like (never stops me from eating the stuff, however) I always thought it was maybe the thick milky sugariness that somehow globbed in the back of my throat, and the cough is a protective mechanism. But in your case, maybe it’s the amount of saliva you secrete in response to the sweetness. I dunno. Maybe I’m just pulling that info out of my ass. ---
**Author:** ![meeerylou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b77776/32.png) [@meeerylou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meeerylou)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/4 "2013-02-14T23:17:31Z")
I had whooping cough in 2004. Since then I have a wheezing cough daily. I especially cough any time I eat something sweet, and it doesn’t matter if it’s naturally sweet, like raisins or honey. Chocolate and carmel are the worst! I know GERD can cause coughing from what you eat, but this is immediate! Even if I fast for 24 hours. Please reply if you know have experienced this, or have gotten a diagnosis from a medical doctor. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/5 "2013-02-15T01:48:52Z")
I get that, too! It doesn’t make me cough as often as it does makes my throat feel like it’s closing off. But I do cough once in a while, particularly with cinnamon chewing gum. That one bothers me enough that I cough, my throat feels like it’s closing off, and my eyes water. Three Musketeers bars also do it. Super sugary cake icing also does it. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/6 "2013-02-15T15:00:44Z")
Glad to see this zombie again, after almost 10 years. Hopefully someone will explain it this time; I still don’t have a clue. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/7 "2013-02-15T15:37:45Z")
zombie or no cells in your mouth react quickly to things. people can have a rapid sensation in their teeth to large amounts of sugar. the high concentration of sweetener may trigger a reaction in nerve cells which might cause a cough to occur. ---
**Author:** ![meeerylou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b77776/32.png) [@meeerylou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meeerylou)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-when-eating-sweets/184771/8 "2013-02-19T15:13:57Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > zombie or no > > cells in your mouth react quickly to things. people can have a rapid sensation in their teeth to large amounts of sugar. the high concentration of sweetener may trigger a reaction in nerve cells which might cause a cough to occur. So John, I don’t know your level of expertise, but maybe you could answer as to why I sometimes cough when I simply swallow water from a water bottle or water fountain? Sweets ALWAYS make me cough immediately, but I CHOKE on water. Even if I fast 24 hours and drink only water from a fountain or water bottle. Could my swallowing mechanism be faulty or could my fibromyalgia (espoh. muscles?)cause this problem, too? When I choke, I cough and cough, red-faced, until I almost puke. It is embarrassing at work, to say the least. Thanks!☹