Suggest Remedy When Food Enters The Lungs

Posted on Tue, 10 Feb 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 Answered on

Thu, 12 Mar 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : if a person inhales food in the lungs how do you remedy the situation, also if a person is a new denture wearer aand swallowed food too big to enter stomach via tube for adaquit consistancey and the food which is too big falls from the stomach tube into body cavity, also what blockage would cause, the saliva gland and your sensce of taste and smell to go

Answered by Dr. Satyadeo Choubey (41 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
bronchoscopic removal and antibiotic

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your query.

If one inhales food in the lung, there is immediate response of cough and choking and the particle is coughed out. Food can only enter the lung if cough reflex is blunted like in comatose or drunken person. If any how it goes to the lungs, it leads to aspiration pneumonia and may require bronchoscopic removal and antibiotic.

There is no direct connection of food pipe with body cavity until and unless it gets ruptured. Usually all large bolus land in stomach via swallowing.

Lack of taste may be due to oral infection or anaesthesia used for fitting dentures.

So just chill. ...

Best wishes

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E

Follow up: Dr. Satyadeo Choubey (3 hours later)

what could cause food pipe to rupture, perhaps large unchewed food

Answered by Dr. Satyadeo Choubey (49 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Rupture via food bolus is remote possibility

Detailed Answer:
Food pipe usually rupture during instrumentation or vigorous forced vomiting. Rupture by hard large food bolus is remote possibility found rarely in medical literature.
Get a chest X ray done air by the side of heart can suggest. Definitive test is CT scan.

Best wishes

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad