Fishbone stuck in throat: What Should You Do?

Do you know what is the number one ENT emergency in Singapore? Fishbones which become stuck in people’s throats! Here is a fishbone which I managed to remove in clinic, from the throat of a 35 year old lady who had been eating a seabass fillet and suddenly felt a nasty pain upon swallowing. These bones have been found trapped in the tonsils, tongue, back of throat, oesophagus (gullet or food passage to the stomach) and even airway.

A long fishbone I removed in clinic from a patient’s throat.

Not all fishbones can be detected on a plain X-ray and may actually be “invisible”. So just because the fishbone is not seen on the X-ray, doesn’t mean that there is no bone. We may have to arrange a CT scan of your neck and chest to hunt down the missing fishbone.  They can be really troublesome to find, so please be careful when eating your next fishy meal.

https://www.drannabelle.com/throat-and-voice-otolaryngologist.html

Here are some simple tips to try to avoid getting a fishbone stuck inside your throat and what to do if you do have a fishbone stuck in Singapore:

1. If you must eat fish, chew your food carefully and slowly, as some fishbones can be rather fine.
2. Please try not to wolf down your food, even if it is “just” porridge, as there may be small pieces of broken bone inside. Fish fillets, including your fish and chips, though meant to be boneless, may still contain tiny slivers of bone.
3. If you have ended up swallowing a bone by mistake, please don’t listen to the old wives’ tale of swallowing vinegar to try to “dissolve” the bone: this is not going to happen at all and will probably make you feel worse. Fizzy drinks like Coca cola are highly unlikely to help either.
4. If the pain inside your throat persists, then you should get your throat carefully examined by a top ENT specialist in Singapore who will try to find out where this foreign body has gone and if it has caused any injury to the lining of your throat. This usually means going to the clinic during the daytime or having to go to the Emergency Dept if it occurs after working hours,

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