3 years, 1 month ago
via
Twitter
what happens when you drink water and it goes down the wrong "pipe," causing you to cough?
Separate topics with commas, or by pressing return. Use the delete or backspace key to edit or remove existing topics.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$2 Answers
Basically...under normal breathing conditions, the Epiglottis is sitting in an "Up" position, allowing you to breath normally, and actually acting as part of the vocal system. But, when your body swallows, it folds down, opening the passage to your stomach. The problem comes when you are drinking (or eating for that matter) and trick your body into taking a breath. The epiglottis moves to the up position to allow the air to pass, and some liquid/food slips past into the entrance of the lungs. This is detected by the body, and it reacts to protect itself by coughing (air forced from the lungs will also force the blockage out into the throat where it can be dealt with by expelling or finishing swallowing...
http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/choking.html
"To understand choking, you first have to understand what goes on at the back of your throat hundreds of times per day. All the food you eat and the air you breathe passes through your throat to get into your body. Food and liquid go down one pipe — the esophagus (say: ih-sah-fuh-gus) — to your stomach. Air goes down another pipe — the trachea (say: tray-kee-uh), or windpipe — to your lungs. These two pipes share an opening at the back of your throat.
So if they share an opening, how does the food know which pipe to go down? Lucky for you, your body has it all under control. A little flap of cartilage (say: kar-tel-ij) called the epiglottis (say: eh-pih-glah-tis) sits near your trachea, and every time you swallow, it springs into action. Acting like a little door, it closes off the entrance to your trachea so that food is sent down your esophagus into your stomach instead of into your lungs."
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/818/75012038.JPG
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/epiglottis.aspx
"epiglottis A leaf-shaped piece of cartilage covered by mucous membrane, sited vertically against the back of the root of the tongue and in front of the glottis — the opening into the larynx. The upper part of the epiglottis is free to bend back and down; also the arrangement of nearby folds of tissue and bands of muscle allows the rim of the glottis to be drawn against a thickening on the back surface of the epiglottis. These mechanisms provide for closure of the glottis during swallowing, preventing food and drink from entering the larynx and trachea (windpipe) and directing it further back into the opening of the oesophagus (gullet)."
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/respiratorysystem/larynx/epiglottis/tutorial.html
http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/choking.html
"To understand choking, you first have to understand what goes on at the back of your throat hundreds of times per day. All the food you eat and the air you breathe passes through your throat to get into your body. Food and liquid go down one pipe — the esophagus (say: ih-sah-fuh-gus) — to your stomach. Air goes down another pipe — the trachea (say: tray-kee-uh), or windpipe — to your lungs. These two pipes share an opening at the back of your throat.
So if they share an opening, how does the food know which pipe to go down? Lucky for you, your body has it all under control. A little flap of cartilage (say: kar-tel-ij) called the epiglottis (say: eh-pih-glah-tis) sits near your trachea, and every time you swallow, it springs into action. Acting like a little door, it closes off the entrance to your trachea so that food is sent down your esophagus into your stomach instead of into your lungs."
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/epiglottis.aspx
"epiglottis A leaf-shaped piece of cartilage covered by mucous membrane, sited vertically against the back of the root of the tongue and in front of the glottis — the opening into the larynx. The upper part of the epiglottis is free to bend back and down; also the arrangement of nearby folds of tissue and bands of muscle allows the rim of the glottis to be drawn against a thickening on the back surface of the epiglottis. These mechanisms provide for closure of the glottis during swallowing, preventing food and drink from entering the larynx and trachea (windpipe) and directing it further back into the opening of the oesophagus (gullet)."
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/respiratorysystem/larynx/epiglottis/tutorial.html
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Report Abuse
One of two things: your self-protective cough reflex activates to eject the water before it gets into your lungs, or it doesn't. If it doesn't and forms a bubble too high, it can cause your airway to spasm to the point of closing.
The coughing is technically a "laryngospasm" and "glottis closure", and can cause death even when there is not much water in the lungs. If you inhale water from a source like a lake, you could inhale contaminant that could eventually cause pneumonia.
The coughing is technically a "laryngospasm" and "glottis closure", and can cause death even when there is not much water in the lungs. If you inhale water from a source like a lake, you could inhale contaminant that could eventually cause pneumonia.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
