Is it Possible to Get Food Stuck in Your Sinuses?
If you ever snorted with laughter while eating dinner, you may already know that it is possible to get food stuck in your sinuses. It certainly isn’t a pleasant topic to think about, but it does occasionally occur. The reason it’s possible to get food stuck in your sinuses is because of the basic structure of the sinuses in relationship to your mouth.
When you have a cold, you may feel an irritated feeling in the back of your throat. This is often due to the fact that mucus produced during the cold drains into the opening of your throat via the nasal passages. Though it isn’t exactly common, when you inhale, cough or laugh while eating, you may actually access this passage and get food stuck in your sinuses.
Often there isn’t much cause for concern if you get food stuck in your sinuses, since you will usually immediately cough or snort and send the food right back out again. Another thing to try is a saline nasal rinse, which may help clear the food. However if you’re not seeing the food emerge pretty quickly, you do need to see a doctor. Food stuck in your sinuses can cause pretty nasty sinus infections if not removed.
Children can get food stuck in their sinuses in a different way. Kids are inherently curious about their nostrils, and seem to have a natural impulse to want to fill these cool nostril holes with a variety of objects. This could include food, small toys, crayons, and a lot of other things; children are unfortunately greatly imaginative when it comes to things they will put up their nose. Parents may not be in the know when it comes to these activities, but can look for signs that a child may have put a foreign body in his/her nose.
You may see, for instance, some nose bleeding, and the sinuses may be draining pretty consistently. A child’s nose may be stuffy, and she or he may be coughing and sneezing. Occasionally if objects have been allowed to sit in the sinuses, you may note an unusual rotting or sweet smell when you sniff near the child’s face. If you suspect that natural curiosity may have gotten the better of common sense, it’s a good idea to take the child to a doctor, where they can look at the nasal passages and the sinuses and see if there are any foreign bodies trapped there.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
