# Why do I get sick when something gets stuck in my throat

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-sick-when-something-gets-stuck-in-my-throat/200417>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 9, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-sick-when-something-gets-stuck-in-my-throat/200417 "2003-09-09T00:32:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-sick-when-something-gets-stuck-in-my-throat/200417/1 "2003-09-09T00:32:53Z")

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Every time I get a sharp piece of nut or chip stuck in my throat, I wake up sick the next morning. Why does that happen? It doesn’t even make sense (and I keep telling myself that everytime it happens, hoping I just misread the situation all of the previous times). Is it because I irritate my throat by constantly trying to clear the shard out, making it open for infection? I’m assuming I’m not the only one this happens to.

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**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-sick-when-something-gets-stuck-in-my-throat/200417/2 "2003-09-09T01:34:15Z")

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One possible explanation, 100% WAG: you’re not getting something stuck in your throat. Your throat is irritated because you’re _already_ getting sick, and you just _think_ there’s something stuck in there.

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**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-sick-when-something-gets-stuck-in-my-throat/200417/3 "2003-09-09T02:17:53Z")

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Another explanation is that the “sticking” event has caused some sort of minor injury that makes your gag reflex extremely sensitive for a while.

Solution? Chew more carefully?

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**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-get-sick-when-something-gets-stuck-in-my-throat/200417/4 "2003-09-09T17:17:15Z")

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Another WAG, worth every penny you paid for it: perhaps the food scrapes away the mucous membrane, leaving a bare patch of soft tissue, or even a minor wound, where the usual buggies that pass through your gullet every day can get a foothold and develop into an infection.