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What Causes Difficulty Swallowing, Sore Throat And Feeling Of Something Stuck In Throat?
Question: Hi!I am a 35 year old woman that has had swallowing and throat problems since february.It has been almost 3 months. This started with a sore throat and a fever first. The fever went away but I continued to have sore throat and a feeling of something stuck in the back of my throat and throat tightness. I have also had fever for a couple of times more during these 3 months. When I swallow food, it is going down slowly and if I swallow hard pills that are big I feel like gagging and they are going down slowly. Also I have a lot of mucus in throat, and sometimes when I clear my throat there is some blood in mucus there. Also I had some night sweats but they subsided in the last weeks. I have been to an ENT and he looked down my throat and said it is fine, only a bit if redness. He said he thinks it is acid and I should try anti acids. I have now tried these for almost a week and still difficulty swallowing. My throat doesn´t have any lumps and doctor has taken strepto-test which was negative and also my blood count test, crp and thyroid tests were normal. What do you think this is? I am scared of cancer.
Brief Answer:
I would need some info
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to Health Care Magic.
I am Dr.Muhammad Ahmad, I have read your question in detail, I understand your concern and will try to help you in the best possible way.
In order to help you better , I would like you to give me some more information,
I will here by ask you some relevant questions to fill up the information gap.
1) Have you been losing any weight?
2) Do you have any allergies?
3) Did using antacids make things any better ?.even if 10%?
4) Do you have a habit of drinking tea or coffee or fizzy drinks regularly?
5) Are you scared while swallowing?
6) Any cough?
7) is drinking and swallowing saliva ok?
8) any addictions?
Waiting for your input
Regards.
Dr.Muhammad Ahmad.
M.B.B.S ( Licensed Family practitioner)
Resident M.D.
I would need some info
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to Health Care Magic.
I am Dr.Muhammad Ahmad, I have read your question in detail, I understand your concern and will try to help you in the best possible way.
In order to help you better , I would like you to give me some more information,
I will here by ask you some relevant questions to fill up the information gap.
1) Have you been losing any weight?
2) Do you have any allergies?
3) Did using antacids make things any better ?.even if 10%?
4) Do you have a habit of drinking tea or coffee or fizzy drinks regularly?
5) Are you scared while swallowing?
6) Any cough?
7) is drinking and swallowing saliva ok?
8) any addictions?
Waiting for your input
Regards.
Dr.Muhammad Ahmad.
M.B.B.S ( Licensed Family practitioner)
Resident M.D.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
1) I have lost 6 pounds in the last month because of difficulty swallowing,I dont eat as much.
2)No allergies I know of.
3)Antiacids made me feel a little bit better but still not much.
4)I drank a lot of fizzy drinks before but not lately
5)I am a little bit scared when swallowing lately since I experienced that things get a little stuck
6)Some cough, but very little
7)Drinking and swallowing saliva is easier, but even then I feel throat tightness
8)No addictions
2)No allergies I know of.
3)Antiacids made me feel a little bit better but still not much.
4)I drank a lot of fizzy drinks before but not lately
5)I am a little bit scared when swallowing lately since I experienced that things get a little stuck
6)Some cough, but very little
7)Drinking and swallowing saliva is easier, but even then I feel throat tightness
8)No addictions
Brief Answer:
This can be controlled
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for writing back,
I have read your history and answers in detail ,
I am of the opinion that you don't really have throat infection issues,
But there is throat irritation which can either be caused by allergy or a stomach acid issue.
For this i will suggest you some life style modification and will also explain to you the medical options you have:
Till then there are certain measure you can take which will help you control your symptoms.
1) Avoid bitter sour food.
2) Avoid fizzy, sour, decaffeinated drinks, , don't take tea or coffee at all.
3) Avoid smoking and alcohol if you use them.
4) Increase fibre content in your food strictly avoid junk, use whole wheat products , you can even use fibre supplements (organic ones)
5) Eat red and white meat less for some days.
6) Reduce weight if you have more weight than you should.
7) Walk after dinner fpr 15-20 mins at least and don't lie down immediately after dinner.
Then we come to meds,
1) You can use antacids over the counter for quick relieve like syrup Gaviscon.
2) I would prescribe my patient with Omeprazole or any other PPI they really help.
3) Then my patients responded really well to prokinetics like motillium.
4) I would also ask my patients to take zantac in night if they took omerpazole in morning to add the effect.
You would also need to avoid irritating substances like dust or anything which causes you allergy.
As far as difficulty swallowing is concerned there may be number of causes:
1) You are anxious to swallow now.
2) There is throat irritation causing esophagial spasm.
3) There is esophageal sphincter(it is very less likely to be there in your case).\
1st two causes can be controlled by the suggestions i gave you above.
If still you don't improve then go to a gastroentrologist , he might want to rest some tests on you to see if your esophagus is actually narrowed or not.
I would suggest you not to panic this thing doesn't seem to be something alarming.
I Hope this answers your question, if your have more queries feel free to ask, otherwise close the discussion and rate it. Wish you the best of health.
Regards,
Dr.Muhammad Ahmad.
M.B.B.S.
Resident M.D.
This can be controlled
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for writing back,
I have read your history and answers in detail ,
I am of the opinion that you don't really have throat infection issues,
But there is throat irritation which can either be caused by allergy or a stomach acid issue.
For this i will suggest you some life style modification and will also explain to you the medical options you have:
Till then there are certain measure you can take which will help you control your symptoms.
1) Avoid bitter sour food.
2) Avoid fizzy, sour, decaffeinated drinks, , don't take tea or coffee at all.
3) Avoid smoking and alcohol if you use them.
4) Increase fibre content in your food strictly avoid junk, use whole wheat products , you can even use fibre supplements (organic ones)
5) Eat red and white meat less for some days.
6) Reduce weight if you have more weight than you should.
7) Walk after dinner fpr 15-20 mins at least and don't lie down immediately after dinner.
Then we come to meds,
1) You can use antacids over the counter for quick relieve like syrup Gaviscon.
2) I would prescribe my patient with Omeprazole or any other PPI they really help.
3) Then my patients responded really well to prokinetics like motillium.
4) I would also ask my patients to take zantac in night if they took omerpazole in morning to add the effect.
You would also need to avoid irritating substances like dust or anything which causes you allergy.
As far as difficulty swallowing is concerned there may be number of causes:
1) You are anxious to swallow now.
2) There is throat irritation causing esophagial spasm.
3) There is esophageal sphincter(it is very less likely to be there in your case).\
1st two causes can be controlled by the suggestions i gave you above.
If still you don't improve then go to a gastroentrologist , he might want to rest some tests on you to see if your esophagus is actually narrowed or not.
I would suggest you not to panic this thing doesn't seem to be something alarming.
I Hope this answers your question, if your have more queries feel free to ask, otherwise close the discussion and rate it. Wish you the best of health.
Regards,
Dr.Muhammad Ahmad.
M.B.B.S.
Resident M.D.
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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