A lump in the throat is a common complaint that people come to see a doctor with. There are many reasons for the onset of a symptom, it can be a consequence of both various infectious diseases and psychological deviations. Without correct diagnosis and establishment of the causes of the disease, it is impossible to prescribe adequate treatment. In this case, you should definitely seek help from specialists who will help eliminate discomfort.
Causes
If a patient goes to the doctor with a complaint of a lump in the throat, then they often have the following symptoms:
- a feeling of tightness in the throat;
- difficulty swallowing saliva;
- a feeling of the presence of a foreign body in the throat;
- Difficulty swallowing solid and large foods
- excessive accumulation of mucus;
- feeling of stirring in the throat.
The reasons for these symptoms:
- fatigue, stressful conditions;
- viral or bacterial infections that affect the larynx;
- thyroid problems;
- pathology of the cervical vertebra;
- disturbances in the work of the stomach;
- hernia;
- overweight;
- the consequences of taking medications;
- tumors.
So quite often it is the transferred stress that causes the feeling of constriction in the throat. In this case, the symptom of the presence of a coma may occur periodically, or be permanent.
Stressful situations provoke a sharp contraction of the muscles in the throat or overstrain, which causes unpleasant and even dangerous sensations.
Depression, nervousness, anxiety, all of this can provoke sudden muscle contraction and a feeling of tightness in the throat.
Viral and bacterial infections of the ENT organs, endocrine pathologies, diseases of the spine, can also provoke a lump in the throat, the symptoms of which differ significantly depending on the type of disease.
If the correct diagnosis was not made on time and adequate treatment was not started, especially in cases where the disease is caused by infections of the nasopharynx, complications may develop. A lump in the throat becomes the result of various diseases, for example, pharyngitis or purulent sore throat, improper treatment of which often leads to more serious pathologies. For example, the most dangerous complication is the accumulation of pus in the epiglottis. This disease develops rapidly and is characterized by the presence of an inflammatory process in the area of the pharynx, where edema can easily lead to suffocation.
A feeling of a lump in the throat can also develop as a result of a tumor localized in the larynx.
In the process of its growth, the tumor can move, taking place in the upper part of the larynx, which becomes the cause of the unpleasant symptom. If the correct treatment was not started in the early stages of the disease, then at later stages the feeling of tightness in the throat is replaced by a feeling of lack of oxygen.
Features of the diagnosis of the disease
If you have a feeling of a lump in your throat, you should immediately seek the advice of your therapist. After the examination, the doctor will decide on further treatment, and may advise you to undergo additional examination or consult another specialist. Most often, with a similar symptom, you may need to consult an otolaryngologist, neurologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, surgeon.
For the most accurate determination of the cause of the feeling of tightness in the pharynx, additional diagnostic procedures may be prescribed:
- clinical analyzes of blood and urine;
- a complete examination of the thyroid gland, including blood donation for hormones and ultrasound examination;
- biochemical analysis;
- assess the condition of the lymph nodes in the neck;
- computed and magnetic resonance imaging;
- a complete examination of the oral cavity and pharynx.
Remember, the sooner the correct diagnosis is made, the more effective the prescribed therapy will be.
Treatment
If there is tightness and a feeling of a lump in the throat, therapy should be started immediately. However, treatment should be aimed as much at eliminating the most unpleasant symptom as at the causes of its occurrence.
If, with the help of diagnostic procedures, the doctor was able to accurately diagnose, then the treatment will be prescribed in accordance with the disease.
- Spine pathologies in the neck area can cause a permanent sensation of a foreign object.
If the symptom is accompanied by an acute sore throat, numbness and decreased sensitivity of the upper limbs, it is likely that it is caused by osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. In this case, both medical treatment and surgical intervention are used.
In this situation, special ointments, creams, manual therapy are often used. Treatment with a laser, acupuncture, paraffin treatment also gives a positive result. But the disease often requires an integrated approach, including the use of anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain, specially designed exercises and lifestyle adjustments.
Important! Such therapy for osteochondrosis is contraindicated in pregnancy and in the acute stage of the disease.
An effective treatment for tightness in the throat caused by pathologies of the spine can be based on massage. This method can significantly reduce pain and speed up recovery.
- If there is inflammation in the pharynx caused by bacteria or viruses, the patient will be prescribed a course of antibiotic therapy or treatment with antiviral drugs.
An exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis can also cause a feeling of tightness and foreign object. Signs of this disease are sore throat, low-grade fever, persisting for a long time, white bloom on the tonsils. It is the excess of purulent plaque on the tonsils that creates a feeling of constriction in the throat.
Regular rinsing, washing the tonsils, inhalation, warming compresses in combination with the use of antibiotics can also be used as procedures to reduce the severity of an unpleasant symptom and speed up the healing process. However, it is very difficult to achieve a complete restoration of the tonsils, therefore, in the treatment of chronic tonsillitis, the primary task is to restore general immunity.
- If the cause of the constriction in the throat is a violation of the thyroid gland, then therapy will be carried out with the help of iodine-containing drugs with hypofunction of the gland, or with the help of hormonal agents with the development of autoimmune thyroiditis.
- Diseases of the stomach also often become the causes of throat constriction. In this case, the patient often complains of belching and a lump in the throat. Only after a complete diagnosis, the doctor will be able to prescribe an effective treatment.
- In situations where psychoemotional factors have caused a coma in the throat, treatment will involve the use of sedatives. In stressful conditions, the patient is also recommended rest and good sleep.
Features of treatment during pregnancy
If a woman is pregnant, then most often the main reason for the occurrence of tightness in the throat is anxiety. The stress present in early pregnancy is mainly associated with fear of something new. Therefore, in order to eliminate the feeling of a lump in the throat, it is necessary to calm the woman down, remove the irritants that cause psycho-emotional overload.If an unpleasant symptom persists even at rest, you should immediately consult a doctor. If necessary, after the examination, the doctor can refer the woman for a consultation with a neurologist or otolaryngologist.
If, nevertheless, depression or stress has become the cause of the constriction in the throat, then the doctor will probably advise the use of special relaxing drugs based on valerian root, which are not contraindicated in pregnancy.
Prophylaxis
There are a large number of diagnostic methods that allow you to understand the cause of the tightness in the throat and prescribe the correct treatment, which in most cases will give a positive result. However, it is better to prevent the disease than to look for ways to treat it. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to methods of preventing the onset of a symptom of a coma in the throat. Preventive measures include:
- immediate treatment of diseases of the nasopharynx;
- maintaining an active lifestyle, adherence to sleep and wakefulness, quitting smoking and alcohol abuse, a sufficient number of walks in the fresh air;
- sufficient humidity in the room to avoid dryness in the throat;
- timely preventive examination by an endocrinologist, treatment of thyroid diseases;
- correct treatment of chronic tonsillitis and regular lavage of the tonsils;
- treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- prevention and treatment of diseases of the cervical spine;
- moisturizing the nasal cavity with saline;
- exclusion of situations that cause stress;
- timely treatment when the first symptoms occur.
For the prevention of a lump in the throat in pregnant women after suffering nervous conditions, sound sleep will help. Walking in the fresh air will also be useful for pregnant women.
