[ELI5] When you accidentally inhale something, like water or food, and you cough it mostly up and are fine, how does the rest get out of your lungs and how do you not get pneumonia?

Question

[ELI5] When you accidentally inhale something, like water or food, and you cough it mostly up and are fine, how does the rest get out of your lungs and how do you not get pneumonia?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The choking or “gag reflex” will get triggered when the food is still roughly in the throat area. The food would still have to go all the way down food pipe/trachea which is quite long way before reaching the lung tissue, and would be coughed up by a healthy individual before then. Some diseases affect this ability though.