# What's this stuff I'm burping up? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-stuff-im-burping-up/794855 "2017-08-27T18:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-stuff-im-burping-up/794855/1 "2017-08-27T18:38:55Z")
(A little bit gross. You’ve been warned.) 🙂 I hike most mornings and (don’t judge) drink a large diet coke while I’m doing it. You know that expression “I just threw up a little into my mouth”? _Something_ like that seems to be happening. I don’t get any liquid or acid taste, and I don’t really retch, but I do get these solid, yellow, rice-sized particles coming up. It might happen once or twice during the hike, and 1 - 3 particles will come up. It doesn’t seem to happen much except when I’m hiking. Any ideas what this could be? J. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-stuff-im-burping-up/794855/2 "2017-08-27T20:27:09Z")
Tonsil stones? Not from the stomach, but sometimes retching will bring them out of the throat. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-stuff-im-burping-up/794855/3 "2017-08-27T20:49:08Z")
Do they taste and smell like concentrated halitosis? (That’s the best way to describe them; ask me how I know this.) If so, they’re probably tonsilliths, and totally harmless. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-stuff-im-burping-up/794855/4 "2017-08-28T00:10:05Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Tonsil stones? Not from the stomach, but sometimes retching will bring them out of the throat. Hmmm. Not sure if this is it, though I wouldn’t rule it out. The particles seem to come up my esophagus, not just get loosened from my mouth. And why do I only get them when hiking? On the other hand, the color and shape aren’t inconsistent with tonsil stones. And I can’t rule out that the diet coke might “loosen” them as I’m drinking. They do taste a little like vomit, but my spouse has never complained of halitosis. So, possible, but not proven yet. Thanks, J. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-stuff-im-burping-up/794855/5 "2017-08-28T17:52:39Z")
Do you a lot of seeds or nuts…maybe even tomato seeds…the get stuck in the folds of the esophagus sometimes. Maybe exercise and possibly mouth breathing dislodges them ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-stuff-im-burping-up/794855/6 "2017-08-28T19:36:15Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Do you a lot of seeds or nuts…maybe even tomato seeds…the get stuck in the folds of the esophagus sometimes. Maybe exercise and possibly mouth breathing dislodges them No, not really.