Introduction
For us, food and drink are processes of daily life. If the food is chopped in the mouth, the next step is the act of swallowing, which transports the food pulp further towards the stomach. Swallowing” refers to the closure of the windpipe by the larynx.
The background is that the food pulp from the mouth is in principle equally likely to reach the trachea and the esophagus. For this reason, the swallowing process seals the windpipe by means of the laryngeal flap so that the food only enters the esophagus. This works in almost 100% of cases.
If the swallowing process does not work, we choke and have to cough. The body then actively tries to push air up out of the lungs to transport the foreign body out of the windpipe. But what if swallowing hurts and we are plagued by constant swallowing difficulties? Simple processes such as eating and drinking hurt, sometimes the voice is affected, and in the worst case we cannot take in any food at all. What causes this and what can be done about it will be explained in the following.
Symptoms
Swallowing difficulties are when the swallowing process is impaired, hurts, or does not work. Symptoms are frequent swallowing, hoarse voice, reddened throat, and swelling. Sometimes swallowing can be so painful that it is no longer possible to eat, for example in the course of a bacterial tonsillitis.
Then those affected lose a lot of weight within a short time, which further weakens the body and forms a kind of vicious circle. Complications of frequent swallowing include inflammation of the lungs, irritation of the vocal chords with a rough, hoarse voice, and sore throat. Sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, and difficulty in swallowing in general can be caused by a whole range of different diseases.
However, if the symptoms occur mainly or only unilaterally, the list of possible causes is much shorter. In principle, inflammatory processes are the most common. The tonsils are usually responsible for pain when swallowing and a clot-like feeling in the throat.
As one of the first barriers against pathogens, these are often inflamed and swollen even in simple flu-like infections. The flu-like infection (colloquially called cold) is a disease caused by quite harmless viruses (usually rhinoviruses or adenoviruses), which brings typical symptoms such as sore throat, a cold, cough and/or difficulty swallowing, as everyone knows them. Even a real flu can cause these symptoms.
In contrast to the flu, however, it is associated with a sudden rise in fever and stronger general symptoms (sore throat, difficulty swallowing, fatigue, aching limbs, etc.). Depending on the location of the inflammation, a distinction can be made between pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat), laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx) or tonsillitis (tonsillitis), each of which can cause unilateral swallowing difficulties. Influenza infections do not require any treatment, especially since drugs such as antibiotics are ineffective against viruses.
If necessary, however, it is helpful to take painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol. Bacterial inflammation of the tonsils is also very typical for unilateral swallowing problems, which is accompanied by significant pain when swallowing and white-yellowish purulent coatings (in contrast to viral inflammation, which is always free of pus). The responsible bacteria are usually Group A Streptococci.
As a rule, the purulent tonsillitis takes a mild course, which can be treated very well, especially with antibiotics. In some cases, however, it can also lead to more serious secondary diseases. The peritonsillar abscess is particularly worth mentioning.
This is a local inflammation of the connective tissue surrounding the tonsils. This finally leads to the formation of a pus-filled abscess, which causes severe difficulty swallowing and sore throat. This disease definitely requires medical treatment.Since swallowing difficulties are often difficult to assess for the patient himself, swallowing disorders that last longer than a few days or severe pain when swallowing must always be clarified by a doctor so that serious illnesses can be ruled out or treated in time.
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