Since our stomach acid is so strong, why does vomiting not scar our throat and mouth?
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As everyone else has already commented, it can and it does – however your body does its best to try and mitigate this…
1. One thing I’m surprised no-one has mentioned is waterbrash (increased salivation) before vomiting.
Your saliva contains HCO³ – which is a base. Before vomiting (or when feeling nauseous generally) people tend to start salivating more (seriously, next time you feel like you’re about to vomit, stop and take notice, you’ll probably be producing a lot more saliva than normal). Increased salivation helps to neutralise some of the acid produced in your stomach.
2. The lining of your oesophagus and mouth is designed to take a bit of a beating.
On a cellular level, your oesophagus (particularly the top part of your oesophagus) is lined with stratified squamous epithelia; think of this as lots and lots of sheets of paper on top of one another, which protect more important structures underneath. When you vomit, the outer layers of paper are damaged and sacrificed, but this means the important underlying structures are left intact.
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