Choking on Saliva/ Uncontrollable swallowing and air in esophagus

yes this just happened to me tonight .. it felt like I swallowed wrong, I began choking and could not get any air in and was extremely loud as I tried to inhale I could not get any air in I honestly thought i was going to die. after about 5 long gasps with all the muscle i had trying to inhale I started to cough and gradually i began to get more air but still struggling to breath after about 5 mins I was back to normal ....I was at work when it happened and I was alone i didnt know what to do i was trying to get my cell phone to call 911 and Honestly didnt think I was going to make it . terrifiing is putting it lightly .... I dont understand how my throat would close up like that ..never want to go through that again ever!

I have had this happen twice now.  The saliva caused it each time.  The first time I was eating Chinese noodles and passed out hitting the floor from a standing position.  My dog woke me up afterward.  The latest incident happened early Sunday morning.  I was sitting at the computer and had a King Leo Peppermint in my mouth.  I tried to get up and out of the chair and ended up passing out on the kitchen floor.  This time my glasses hit the tile floor and gave me a 6 inch gash above my eyebrow.  I know for a fact the next time that I will get the glasses off as quickly as possible and just lay on the floor.  It's a scary situation.   I have made up my mind not to eat anything unless someone is sitting there with me.

 

look up youtube for laryngospasms there is a great example which most will reconize straight away.

This has been happening to me also.  I think it has been happening for a few years...

I read several post but I do not see any answers.  Today I was alone and started chocking and coughing.  I remember moving my recliner back to a normal position and putting my computer on the floor.  Next thing I feel my head moving oddly and I felt just as odd.  I am almost sure I fainted.  This scares me at this point.  Did we ever get some type of answer?  Yes I will discuss with my doctor but wanted to see if anyone knew anything.

 

I'll share my solution, but first my experience:

So I have this problem as well. I'm 22, male, and have had this happen multiple times in my life up to now. Sometimes it's drinking milk, or water, but recently I choked on my saliva, and just today on a small sip of some alcohol.  It's happened enough that I know when it happens before I even try (and fail) to breathe. The tell-tale feeling of the liquid slipping into the wrong place. Just a little, but it's enough.

Today, I felt it close completely and tightly, not even a chance at a gasp. So I stuck a chopstick down my throat. I do NOT recommend this method. It worked, it gave me a little room to breathe, but my throat is very irritated now. And I'm sure that's a dangerous thing to do.

What I have found that does work, is a combination of a few things:

1. DONT PANIC - I've only gone into panic mode twice after it lasted for over a minute. And I was at the end of my breath because of coughing and on the verge of losing consciousness. I know it's hard to do, but it's got to be done. Stay CALM.

2. Lean forward - Everytime I've felt the liquid dislodge, it has coincided with me tilting my head forward, or leaning forward completely while standing, so that my legs are still straight and my head is pretty much upside down. I've also laid across a couple of chairs on my stomach (a table, or desk etc will work too) and hung my head over the edge. Disclaimer: I haven't tested this out with a scientifically controlled experiment (nor do I wish to) so it could be some other factor, such as the esophagus relaxing after a certain amount of time. But this is what I've found to be the trigger of the relaxation of the throat muscles and therefore the ability to breathe.

What I've found that doesn't work:

COUGHING HARD - The second to last time this happened I tried to cough as hard as I could, figuring I could get it out with one fell swoop. The logic was that maybe many normal or small coughs won't do the trick. All that ended up happening was me losing all my oxygen and going into panic mode. I ended up smashing on a family members door at 4 AM, weezing uncontrollably creating such a high pitched sound that I woke up my parents and father literally thought a woman was being raped (not joking) and mother thought somebody was dying.

So in summary, the most successful attempts at regaining breathe I have simply used gravity to help, not tried to cough very hard but rather firmly let small amounts of even controlled air out, and most importantly not panicked.

Other than that, I'm not sure exactly what is the problem here. Most people never experience this, and my family are all clueless. The only thing that sticks out to me, is that people tell me I swallow very loudly. One person has even asked me if it hurt to swallow, because the sound combined with my movements seemed very uncomfortable to them. I don't notice it, because I've always swallowed the same way, but perhaps there is something to it there. Perhaps it has something to do with that flap that covers the pipes or the shape of the intersection.

Anyway, I hope that helps.

hello every one....this has been going on with me for a few years...it comes and goes...but...lately it is nonstop.....how can you fix this????what can be done??? I have no health insurance.....so I can't just run to a doctor.......

I have had a swallow test and a endoscope to check for issues which may be causing this. I do not choke on liqiud or food, it seems very random. Both tests came back negative for physical triggers. However, it was discovered that I suffer from Gastric Reflux Disease since there were ulcers in my esopogus. Treated for two years no more reflux, still choking. I have found that one suggestion offered in these pages helps. Tapping or rubbing under my adams apple when I start to choke shortens the attack.

I use to chock when I am sleep. I used a wedge pellow like triangle, it raised my shoulders and head about 10" . My chocking is 90% gone. Also, I use to have esophagus irritation which my doctor prescriped DEXILANT I used it for three months, it healed the esophagus and my reflux stopped. Now I get chocked occasionally if I go to sleep right after a late dinner or lunch.

 Their is a condition called Dysphasia that is basically the swallowing mechanism is not working properly so things including saliva go down the wrong pipe. I have this condition and am working on a solution. For one thing if I sleep on my left side I start gagging almost immediately. So obviously I no longer sleep on my left side. Also I now chew all of my food to bits and that has helped too. I stop eating two hous before bed time. I also take a straw and suck a small piece of paper ( small but too big enough to go up intothe straw) Do this for fifteen minutes each day to help the chewing muscles get corrected. Good luck!

:-D

My Answer:My mom suffers  with chocking with saliva, and I am a witness of it for many years. She ask me to beat her upper back hard, we both panic.My husband-ENT doctor and her son-in-law, told her do not worry too mach, because following hypoxia and hypercapnia relaxes muscles of vocal cords and laryngeal airflow restored. Yes, it's scared, but he told her: "NO ONE WILL EVER DIE FROM IT" (Don't confuse saliva with excessive mucus production after cold or flu, which needs doctors consulting)He advised her during "attack"-To do a forced expiration-Breathe with stomach, not with chest.- Try to calm down; NO ONE WILL EVER DIE FROM IT.

 

Hi I am have been reading this post, this has been happening to me for years, I have chronic asthma and my consultant told me it is the flap that for a split second doesn't work, I may not be describing this correctly as it was said in medical jargon, the flap that stops food going into your lungs wont close and it makes saliva go into your lungs, the way it reacts is to cough it up, not nice when your choking and cant breathe, he was supposed to be sending for me when he sorted his clinic out that was 10 years ago and not heard anything since. It only happens to me when I have a cold or my asthma is bad so can go a few weeks without it happening and then bang. I had to give my job up as I worked on phones and it was so bad I couldn't take any calls.My consultant did give it a name but its that long ago I cant remember what he said .

Hi,

 

I had an attack last week which absolutely terrified me, I thought I was going to die and since then have had more minor attacks so I have been looking into what it is, I didnt see the point in going to the doctor as there was nothing to see.

Anyway, I have a name for the problem, its Vocal Cord Dysfunction, or VCD for short.  Take a look on the net and there are various websites that offer information how to deal with it.  Primarily it seems that breathing excercises help and training yourself for methods of trying to breath while having an attack to release the vocal cords.

 

Im going to start these breathing exercises so hopefully if I have another full on attack I will be able to panic less!

I hope this helps someone else too.

 

I have the SAME problem - it's very scary and I feel so weird that I just randomly start choking on nothing. I just know that this will be the way I die, choking on nothing while I am driving down a busy highway!

My husband wants to get an emergency tracheotomy kit, but I've been telling him all along that if I do choke bad enough that I actually pass out from it, my muscles will immediately relax, and I will instantly be able to breathe again. I am very comforted to see that this is actually backed up by medical fact! Although, again, passing out won't be so good if it happens while I am driving!

I know that feeling. When it happens to me, I repeat over and over in my head, calm down, relax, but it's very hard! The one thing I think that really saves me is that in my head I know that if I do pass out, my muscles will relax and I will breathe again, so it will not kill me,