I sometimes get a little cough and phlegm after eating my first meal of the day. This meal is usually lunch since I don’t eat breakfast. Is this common? Anyone know the reason?
I have the same problem, but I think it is after I eat/drink dairy items. Not sure why, though.
-Tofer
We refer to that around the office as the “full cough” as in happens only when you’re full after a meal. Why, though, dunno. WAG with your stomach full of contents there is less room in your chest cavity and the cough adjusts your lungs’ positioning.
-rainy
Sounds like a good theory to me. As the stomach expands, it pushes up against the lungs causing some re-adjustment.
I propose that we clear our throats frequently, except when we are distracted with the chewing and swallowing process. So when that’s finished we feel the need to catch up.
I remember growing up and hearing that dairy products cause congestion more so than other foods. After searching the internet a bit it seems that some people believe that because of a protein in cow’s milk called casein, however it seems there is some dissention about that. Some of the opposing views state that it’s lactose intolerance or milk allergy that causes that reaction to dairy products in SOME people.
My WAG would be that your throat has to produce extra mucus to help get the food down to the stomach, and when you are done eating it takes a bit of time and “ahem!-ing” to get it cleared out.