The winter weather is cold and gloomy with severe smog, making it easy for people to inhale dust, particles, and other pollutants during breathing. It feels like something is stuck in the throat. Drinking plenty of water, even using honey water and other throat-soothing remedies, provides no relief. So, what causes the feeling of a foreign object in the throat? Let's explore this with our editor...
Factor One:
We believe this might be Mei He Qi (Chronic Pharyngitis). This is equivalent to psychoneurosis or globus hystericus in Western medicine. Mei He Qi is often caused by emotional distress, leading to liver qi stagnation that ascends along the meridians and accumulates in the throat. Alternatively, liver stagnation and spleen dysfunction can impair the transportation of fluids, leading to the formation of phlegm that combines with qi to block the throat. Patients often feel a foreign object in the throat without pain, which they cannot cough up or swallow down. It does not affect eating or drinking, but its severity can fluctuate. It may be accompanied by symptoms such as depression, a feeling of fullness and pain in the chest and sides, poor appetite, lethargy, weight loss, a dark tongue coating, and a wiry pulse.
Factor Two:
Chronic pharyngitis is primarily a chronic inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa. Diffuse inflammation is often part of a chronic catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, while localized inflammation is frequently associated with inflammation of the pharyngeal lymphoid tissue. The main symptoms of chronic pharyngitis are throat discomfort, dryness, itching, a feeling of fullness, a tendency to retch, and a foreign body sensation. If you are older and experience difficulty swallowing, it is necessary to have your throat examined.
Factor Three:
It could be pharyngitis. It is recommended to go to the hospital for a check-up. Symptoms include throat discomfort, a feeling of a foreign object in the throat as if there's something that cannot be swallowed or coughed up, which can trigger coughing, as well as dryness, swelling, a blocked sensation, and itching. However, a sore throat is rare. It is important to drink plenty of water, eat more vegetables and fruits, avoid spicy and irritating foods, and get adequate rest and keep warm. Treatment may include taking Azithromycin or Amoxicillin, and using Huasu tablets for sublingual dissolution.