I have a cold and have been coughing a lot. Yet for the past day or so, the coughing has been violent, and sometimes I want to cough, but can t, or I get a gag reflex like I m about to vomit. I fear that a splinter may be stuck in my throat when I chewed on a wooden stick around 7 years ago, and it may be making my cough worse. I have never seemed to have a problem with this and somewhat doubt the splinter s existence. I do theorize that if it does exist, it became dislodged by my cold. Is there a way a normal medical exam can check for this?