Why does it hurt to accidentally gulp air while drinking water?
Sometimes when I'm chugging water, I accidentally swallow a big gulp of air.
It's extremely painful.
As I understand it, water is less compressible than air and people inadvertently swallow air all the time while smoking, chewing gum, drinking, etc.
How is this any different?
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Occasional severe pain in the throat and chest after swallowing that radiates into the arms and feels like a heart attack (as mentioned in the question and one comment) fits the description of esophageal spasm (WebMD).
The pain may last only for few seconds or minutes to hours (OESO Knowledge).
The causes and risk factors are not well understood; they can include acid reflux, unusal anatomy, problems with intrinsic esophageal innervation, etc. (Emedicine). The pain can be triggered by hot or cold beverages or stress, for example.
One possible explanation: Swallowing air results in a different onset of the esophageal peristaltic wave than usually. In combination with an underlying muscle/nerve abnormality, this can trigger a muscle spasm.
Diagnostic procedures include an X-ray with barrium swallow, esophageal manometry, etc.
Various endoscopic or surgical procedures can help...
Related terms: diffuse esophageal spasm, nutcracker or jackhammer esophageus, odynophagia.
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