What is actually happening when you drink something and it get’s “caught” in your chest/throat and it’s really painful?
In: Biology
My guess, your peristaltic activity fails to work properly/can’t move the bolus effectively. I say this as someone who has no peristalsis due to a rare condition so I get that sensation with every bite unless I take small enough ones and drink small amounts of water with every meal.
Edit: Peristalsis is the involuntary movement of muscles in your throat that move a bolus (chunk of food) down your esophagus to your stomach. This painful sensation can be a chunk of food that is too big, too dry (think a huge chunk of dry bread) having difficulty moving down your esophagus so the muscles can spasm or fire in an irregular way. Unless you’re like me with an esophageal disorder, just chew your food and don’t eat too fast and this will seldom happen to you.
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