Sometimes, painful swallow may relate to
laryngeal pathology...
Painful swallow is a symptom, expressing
the pain when swallowing. The pain may come from the mouth, throat or
esophagus. Sometimes, painful swallow may relate to laryngeal pathology...
Signs accompanied by painful swallow
Get hurt when swallowing may be accompanied
by dysphagia although it is a normal reflex and no gastro esophageal reflux.
Painful swallow may also be symptom of stomatalgia; in this case, the pain
becomes more serious by swallowing. Among the causes of mouth inflammation,
sometimes the pain spreads down to the throat, often accompanied by increased
pain when chewing, drinking and swallowing.
Painful
swallow may also be symptom of stomatalgia
Painful swallow can also be noticed when
you take certain foods such as hot food or hot drink; also be associated with
some discomfort and light pain in the morning after waking up and decreasing
during the day. If hot drinks and food cause painful when swallowing, it is a sign
of lesion in the throat such as inflammation or ulceration. Swallowing
painfully in the morning may be related to gastro esophageal reflux disease
which causes a sore throat.
Painful swallow is accompanied by breathing
with difficulty or hoarseness may be a sign of disease in the larynx or trachea
or partial obstruction in the throat. In addition, there are some other signs
such as stomachache, chill, cough, fever, brash, nausea or vomiting, heartburn,
weight loss, wheezing ... But if you have signs of pain when swallowing and
blood in stool, or your stool has black colour or looks like coffee residue,
trouble breathing or dizziness, weight loss, you should call an ambulance or
see a doctor as soon as possible.
Causes of painful swallow
Infection
Acute or chronic infectious diseases such
as stomatitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, epiglottitis and esophagitis can lead
to painful swallow. This is clearer in serious infection and in some cases,
symptoms of dysphagia may also present. Many patients infected in throat area,
mouth or gullet only mention that painful swallow is their main symptom in
chronic infections. These infections can cause ulcers, abscesses or diffuse
inflammation. The causes include:
·
Candida fungus infection in mouth area
·
HIV infection as well as opportunistic
infections in the digestive system
·
Cytomegalovirus (CMV): causes syndrome of
infectious mononucleosis with the expressions of muscle pain, splenomegaly,
haemorrhagic pharyngitis and cervical adenitis, increase of liver enzymes ...
·
Epstein-Barr (EBV): kind of virus causes acute
infection at throat or mouth and may lead to throat cancer.
·
Acute or chronic pharyngitis.
·
Herpes simplex virus (HSV): HSV1 type causes
skin disease, mucous membranes in the upper part of body such as eyes, nose or
mouth.
Foreign objects: damage the throat tunica
mucosa, tonsil, esophagus, as well as obstruct a part or whole of these areas,
may lead to painful swallow; common cause is choking on a fish bone.
Acute
or chronic infectious diseases such as stomatitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis,
epiglottitis and esophagitis can lead to painful swallow
Inflammation
and ulcers not caused by infection
There are several reasons causing
inflammation and ulcers in the throat, and esophagus, but not because of
infection. They are:
·
Burned by acid, base, or by drinking hot water
·
By taking medicine causing esophagitis:
antibiotic (especially doxycycline), potassium chloride, quinidine, iron
sulfate, zidovudine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
·
Inhalation of toxic gases
·
Cancer treatment by radiation
·
Autoimmune disease: scleroderma.
·
After diagnostic routine such as bronchoscopy,
endoscopy of the esophagus - stomach.
Tumour
Cancer in the mouth, pharynx, larynx,
thyroid, neck, and esophagus can lead to painful swallow. This should be
considered as a possible cause which appears in patients having high risk such
as smokers, especially if painful swallow is accompanied by dysphagia and
unintentional weight loss. Metastasis is also checked by doctors when painful
swallow appears and/or together with dysphagia on a cancer patient.
Pathology
of the esophagus
Factors affecting the esophagus may cause
painful swallow. Chest pain is often showed as a result of esophageal lesion.
Patients usually describe first signs of pain, particularly after swallowing. Some
reasons are as follows:
·
Cardiac stomach spasm is a primary disorder of
esophageal operation with unknown reason. This disease is characterized by
incomplete muscle relaxation process of lower esophageal sphincter and loss of
esophageal peristalsis.
·
Diffuse esophageal spasm: is characterized by
uneven, many spontaneous contractions and caused by swallow. This is a rare
disease of esophagus, may cause dysphagia, vomiting and chest pain not due to
heart.
·
Bulkhead or esophageal ring: structural
abnormalities of the esophagus
·
Gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD).
·
Inflammation, ulceration or more serious is
perforation of esophagus.
·
Zenker diverticulitis.
Esophageal
cancer may cause painful swallow
In short, painful swallow can be expression
of a mild illness may be healed in a short time of several days such as
inflammation of mouth mucous membranes, sore throat ... but also a sign of a
serious illness such as cancer, broken esophagus ... or may persist due to
other causes such as narrow, deformed esophagus. Prognosticate and treat the
disease depending on the cause.
