Lump in the throat

Contents

Symptoms of a lump in the throat
Causes of the sensation of a lump in the throat
Treatment for a lump in the throat
- Diagnostics
- Modern treatments
Prevention of feeling a lump in the throat at home
Popular questions and answers

The sensation of a lump in the throat is familiar to many people. There are many reasons for its occurrence, including inflammation in the pharynx, problems with the thyroid gland, and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. We will analyze together with the doctors the most common causes of “coma in the throat”

Most people know from their own experience what a “lump in the throat” is. An unpleasant sensation in the larynx often occurs due to stress and disappears when the person calms down. But it also happens that the discomfort does not disappear or returns. This can be caused by various diseases – from laryngitis to pathologies of the thyroid gland and the gastrointestinal tract.

We spoke with our experts about the symptoms of a lump in the throat and the causes that cause this condition. They also learned about modern methods of diagnosing and treating a coma in the throat in adults.

Symptoms of a lump in the throat

In the medical literature, the feeling of a lump in the throat is called the pharyngeal ball syndrome. This is not an independent disease, but a complex of symptoms that appear due to diseases and neurotic disorders. At the doctor’s appointment, patients usually complain of the following symptoms:

sensation of a foreign body in the larynx;
difficulty and pain when swallowing;
feeling of squeezing, tickling and burning in the throat.

A person may be bothered by one or more symptoms at once. In any case, this condition causes discomfort, therefore, requires medical attention. But first you need to establish the cause of the problem, since the effectiveness of further therapy depends on it.

Causes of the sensation of a lump in the throat

The causes of a coma in the throat can be divided into two large groups – somatic and psychosomatic.

Somatic include injuries of the larynx, inflammation, endocrine disorders and other conditions that are caused by external factors and malfunction of internal organs.
Psychosomatic causes of a coma in the throat are mental and neurological disorders.

Most often, pharyngeal ball syndrome is caused by diseases, which will be discussed later.

Tonsillitis, pharyngitis and laryngitis

Acute and chronic diseases of the ENT organs are usually accompanied by a sensation of a lump in the throat.¹. In acute inflammation, discomfort occurs suddenly, increases rapidly and disappears after a few days. In addition to a coma in the throat, patients complain of pain when swallowing, burning and itching in the larynx, fever, cough and hoarseness.¹. During the examination, the doctor can see other signs of the disease: redness and swelling of the larynx, enlarged tonsils with a yellowish-white coating¹.

Nodular colloid goiter

Nodular colloid goiter is a disease in which one or more “nodules” form in the tissues of the thyroid gland.². In 95% of cases, they are benign and do not pose a threat to life and health.². However, large nodes can compress surrounding organs and tissues, which causes a sensation of a lump in the throat and difficulty swallowing.².

Diffuse toxic goiter

This is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland, which is accompanied by thyrotoxicosis – excessive production of the hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4)³. In patients with diffuse toxic goiter, the thyroid gland increases in size, which can cause a feeling of pressure in the larynx³. With this disease, there is a rapid heartbeat, a person is more emotionally excitable, gets tired quickly, has a good appetite with reduced weight³.

Chronic autoimmune thyroiditis

HAIT is the most common autoimmune thyroid disease, which is diagnosed in 90% of cases in women.⁴. Patients with CAIT often suffer from other autoimmune pathologies: celiac disease, type 1 diabetes mellitus, adrenal insufficiency⁴. Chronic thyroiditis may present with pain and pressure in the neck due to overgrowth of thyroid tissue.⁴. If the disease is not treated, patients develop hypothyroidism – a lack of thyroid hormones, which disrupts the functioning of the heart, kidneys and reproductive system⁴.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

GERD is a very common disease that affects about 20% of adults.⁵. In this disease, the acidic contents of the stomach are periodically “thrown” back into the esophagus, which can cause a burning sensation and a sensation of a foreign body in the larynx.⁵. Other symptoms of GERD include belching and chest pain, which is similar to heart disease pain.⁵.

Allergic edema of the larynx

Allergic edema develops when the body comes into contact with allergens – drugs, animal hair, plant pollen. In chronic allergic edema, shortness of breath, a feeling of a foreign object in the throat, and difficulty in inhaling and exhaling are observed. Acute allergic edema or angioedema is very dangerous, which can cause a sharp narrowing of the larynx and death from suffocation.

Neurosis of the pharynx against the background of stress

Pharyngeal neurosis is characterized by a periodic or constant sensation of a foreign object in the larynx, which cannot be eliminated with the help of swallowing movements. Sometimes this condition is accompanied by a sore throat. Most often, women and emotionally unstable people who are in a stressful situation suffer from pharyngeal neurosis.

Treatment for a lump in the throat

Treatment of a coma in the throat begins with finding out the cause that caused it. The goal of treating a lump in the throat is to remove unpleasant symptoms, eliminate the cause of the problem and improve the patient’s well-being. Therapy is selected taking into account the causes and severity of the disease and only after a comprehensive diagnosis.

Diagnostics

Primary diagnosis is usually carried out by a therapist or an otolaryngologist. First, the doctor excludes or confirms the presence of the disease. If it is not found, the root cause is sought in neurological or psychiatric disorders.

During the initial examination, the doctor finds out whether the feeling of a lump in the throat is associated with acute conditions that require emergency medical care. First of all, throat injuries and Quincke’s edema are excluded. Then they check the presence or absence of an inflammatory disease of the upper respiratory tract – tonsillitis, laryngitis and others.

On examination, the doctor examines the larynx with a spatula, special mirrors and a laryngoscope. The examination helps to identify inflammatory processes and foreign bodies, abscesses and neoplasms.

For further diagnosis, the following methods are usually used:

Ultrasound of the thyroid gland – is prescribed for suspected endocrine pathology, allows you to detect organ hypertrophy, nodal or diffuse processes;
according to ultrasound, they can prescribe a blood test to determine the level of thyroid hormones – thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine;
endoscopy of the larynx – performed to assess the condition of the mucous membrane of the throat and the muscles of the larynx;
esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) – an endoscopic examination of the mucous membrane of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum, which is prescribed for suspected GERD⁵;
MRI of the soft tissues of the neck – most often performed to determine the presence or absence of a tumor.

If necessary, use other methods of examination. In particular, a biopsy of thyroid tissue may be required to rule out or confirm an oncological process. In inflammatory diseases of the ENT organs, a throat swab is taken to determine the infectious agent.

Modern treatments

Treatment of patients with complaints of a lump in the throat is carried out using conservative and surgical methods. Surgical intervention is used to open an abscess, remove part of the thyroid gland, malignant and benign tumors. In case of asphyxia, due to the narrowing of the larynx, a tracheostomy is used – they cut the front wall of the trachea and install a stoma so that the person can breathe.

The scheme of conservative treatment depends on the type of disease:

GERD patients are prescribed diet therapy and drugs: antacids, alginates, prokinetics, proton pump inhibitors¹;
for the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the ENT organs, antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs are used¹;
patients with thyroid pathologies are prescribed iodine preparations, thyroid hormones, thyreostatics, and also prescribe radioactive iodine therapy^3,4;
people with allergic diseases are prescribed antihistamines;
with neurosis of the pharynx, psychotherapy in combination with anxiolytics and antidepressants helps well.

If necessary, drug therapy is supplemented with physiotherapy. It can be electrophoresis, inhalation, UHF and UVI.

Prevention of feeling a lump in the throat at home

Prevention measures for feeling a lump in the throat will be individual for each person. People with a tendency to neurosis of the pharynx need to learn to cope with stress with the help of psychotherapeutic techniques. Patients with GERD will be helped by diet therapy and the rejection of bad habits: smoking and alcohol. To prevent certain thyroid diseases, iodine preparations are taken, and measures to strengthen the immune system will help reduce the risk of inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.