Why does my throat always feel like it’s “swallowing a razor blade” even though I drink a cup of coffee every day?

Ms. Zhang, a white-collar worker in Hangzhou, is a senior coffee lover. A cup of coffee every morning is an indispensable refreshing drink for her.

Recently, Ms. Zhang came to the ENT department of the Donghu Branch of Linping District Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital for treatment. She told the deputy chief physician Sun Xifeng who saw her that she always felt a sore throat every morning when she woke up, and drinking water felt like swallowing a razor blade and had a foreign body sensation. She also often felt dry and itchy in her throat.

Photo provided by the interviewee

Dr. Sun performed a laryngoscopy on Ms. Zhang and found that her throat was red and swollen. He asked, "Your sore throat must not have started recently. Judging from the condition of your throat, it has been going on for at least a few months."

Ms. Zhang was surprised and said: "Indeed, I have had swallowing pain since the Chinese New Year. At first I thought I was 'yang', so I took some anti-inflammatory drugs, and indeed I felt much better during that period. Later, when I occasionally felt uncomfortable, I would eat a few cold mints to relieve it, but it started to relapse again this month."

Dr. Sun asked Ms. Zhang about her lifestyle in detail and found that she was a senior coffee lover. A cup of coffee every morning was an indispensable refreshing drink for her. Due to her busy work, she sometimes ate a large breakfast and skipped lunch. She would eat some snacks in the afternoon to fill her stomach, and she preferred spicy food for dinner. Over time, she often suffered from stomach pain and acid reflux.

After learning about these situations, Dr. Sun made a rough judgment in his mind. He told Ms. Zhang: "Based on your lifestyle and current symptoms, it can be basically determined that the sore throat is caused by reflux pharyngitis."

Ms. Zhang was very confused. She had only heard of reflux gastritis, but how could there be reflux pharyngitis?

Doctor Sun explained: "The throat is actually a common passage for food and air to go up and down. There is an idiom called the throat is a key passage, which means that the throat is a fortress in the human body. Problems with the organs above and below the throat will affect its own health."

According to clinical medicine statistics, 17.6% of patients with chronic pharyngitis who do not heal suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease. After our food passes through the mouth and esophagus and enters the gastrointestinal tract, it usually does not flow back, but if the barrier function of the upper digestive tract is damaged, the stomach contents can easily flow back to the throat, damaging the throat and causing reflux pharyngitis.

Doctor Sun said: "For patients like Ms. Zhang who have obvious gastric diseases, it can basically be considered that they have reflux pharyngitis. If you simply take some throat tablets, it can only temporarily numb the throat and relieve discomfort, but it is only a temporary solution and not a cure."

The treatment of reflux pharyngitis should start with the stomach, and the most direct way is to adjust eating habits. For Ms. Zhang, the doctor suggested that she should reduce her coffee intake and adjust her diet, try to choose light food, and avoid fried, high-sugar and heavy-tasting food.

Dr. Sun prescribed some medication to relieve stomach discomfort and suggested that she raise her pillow appropriately when sleeping at night, which should also help relieve reflux symptoms.

The doctor also reminded everyone that many people take anti-inflammatory drugs or throat tablets like Ms. Zhang when they have throat discomfort, but throat problems should not be ignored. There are many reasons for throat inflammation, including snoring or stomach diseases. He suggested that citizens should go to the hospital for a comprehensive examination when they have throat discomfort so as to receive symptomatic treatment.