A fishbone swallowed carelessly pierced through the throat.. Actions you should never do [Health Talk]

[Financial News] In Thailand, a fishbone mistakenly swallowed by a woman in her 40s during a meal pierced through the skin of her throat.

According to Thai media The Tiger on the 22nd, a woman in her 40s living in Phetchabun Province in northern Thailand underwent surgery to remove a fishbone about 2 cm long that pierced through her throat.

According to reports, the woman was dining with her husband when she swallowed a fishbone while eating a fish dish and felt a sharp pain in her throat. She tried to swallow more food to remove the bone and pressed the painful area inside her mouth with her finger, but the bone became more deeply embedded, causing inflammation.

Eventually, the woman went to the hospital, but the fishbone was not detected in the X-ray examination, and the results were normal. The doctor judged that the bone might have dissolved or gone down naturally.

However, as time passed, the woman's symptoms worsened. As the throat pain intensified and the throat area swelled like a lump, she returned to the hospital, but the medical staff still found no particular problem.

Then, two days later, while touching her throat area, the woman discovered the fishbone piercing through her skin. She immediately went to the hospital with her husband, confirmed the fishbone through an X-ray examination, and immediately underwent surgery to remove the approximately 2 cm long bone. The surgeon said, "This is the first case I've seen in my medical career."



Accidentally swallowing a fishbone while eating is a common occurrence. In such cases, some people try to swallow rice or other food to push it down as a folk remedy. While it may luckily go down, it can also cause scratches on the mucous membrane as it descends.

In severe cases, a hole may form in the esophageal wall, leading to mediastinitis. Mediastinitis is an inflammation that occurs in the space between the membranes surrounding the lungs, and bacteria can penetrate the heart and aorta, causing more significant problems. Drinking water, carbonated drinks, etc., can also damage the esophagus, so caution is needed.

Particularly, the folk remedy of drinking water mixed with vinegar can irritate the area around the embedded bone and the esophagus, easily causing inflammation. Forcing vomiting or inserting unsanitized tweezers, fingers, etc., to directly remove the bone can risk pushing it deeper by mistake.

If you feel a fishbone stuck in your throat, first try swallowing saliva several times, and if it still doesn't go down, it's best to visit a hospital as soon as possible for treatment. If not removed immediately and left unattended, inflammation can occur around the area where the bone is embedded, and in rare cases, it may penetrate the gastrointestinal tract or move to surrounding organs.

Especially if symptoms like pain, swelling, or fever occur, you should immediately visit a hospital for treatment.

moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter