What’s the ‘Lump’ in your throat before you start to cry?
In: Biology
Your throat, which starts as a single tube eventually splits into two tubes: one going to your lungs and the other going to your GI tract. When you swallow, the body needs to protect the lungs so that food, spit, or drinks don’t enter the lung tube. To do this, we have a flap called the “epiglottis,” which remains open most of the time and then flaps closed to seal off the lung tube when we swallow.
When you cry, or in any stressful situation, your “flight or fight” response kicks in. This response works to increase the amount of oxygen your body gets, so your body will expand all airways. When you swallow you are working agains this response because you are forcing the airway closed. As a result, you will feel how tense your muscles are, which is the “lump in my throat” feeling.
Edit: mistake in wording
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