Worry About Choking

[kgord]

I worry about choking when I am eating steak as I have read about people choking to death while eating steak. It keeps me from enjoying steak fully. I don't eat it that often, but when I do, I have to chew each bite like 500 times. I guess it might be a bit of a phobia..but eating steak can make me feel panicky at times leading to my general avoidance.. I also every six months or so, swallow the wrong way when chewing almost anything...gum, grapefruit juice...and have choked from too much saliva in my mouth or something and have had attacks where I can only breathe in a very restricted fashion. It is a bit like an asthma attack, but I do not have asthma. Does anyone else have a problem like this? IF so how have you resolved it?

 

[amy88]

Not for me directly - but I do have a massive phobia that my child is going to choke. She's at the age where everything is something she wants to chew on - and of course I think being a parent you realize there are so many things that can be hazardous that you never in your life would have expected to be. That scares the heck outta me.

 

[sidney]

I have not had the same problem, but I think that to avoid having anxiety caused by eating such food, then you can just simply avoid them, right? If you can't, then just chew them slowly and properly. I don't think you will endanger yourself if you take precautions. But I think to not even have to worry about being anxious in the first place, then just simply not eat them at all.

 

[kgord]

It can happen with small children but thankfully it doesn't happen that often. I know rationally that the steak choking is very rare too, and in the case of choking a self administered hemlich should I be alone would probably take care of the problem, but as we know, that type of panic is not really rational. It comes from a kind of primitive place. I think many of us that have these issues as well as having a short circuit somewhere in the brain, probably the amgydala also have over active imaginations. Children are so vulnerable I can see why fear and panic can be triggered.

 

[kgord]

I have not had the same problem' date=' but I think that to avoid having anxiety caused by eating such food, then you can just simply avoid them, right? If you can't, then just chew them slowly and properly. I don't think you will endanger yourself if you take precautions. But I think to not even have to worry about being anxious in the first place, then just simply not eat them at all.[/quote']
Yes, but that is giving into the anxiety. Why should I stop eating steak when it is one of life's pleasures? I think learning to deal with the problem rather than avoiding it is the thing to do, besides, as I said, there are other instances where I have kind of semi choked, on other substances which leads to a panic reaction. I try to immediately relax if I get the sensation that I am going to have a reaction...and that helps. Keeping panic out of the situation..is beneficial for almost all fearful situations.

 

[aimeepoo]

Yes indeed. That is one of my biggest fears as well. You are right that you shouldn't give up eating it though. I really hope this phobia goes away soon. They normally tend to ease after a while. Just try to focus on the taste and sensation of the steak and that it is good nourishment for your body.

 

[vegito12]

I have choked on some foods at night which happens after I am in bed and it could be due to the body not used to the food like I did a home made pizza and pie a couple of times and saw that it was about to happen and had a bottle of water so I keep a bottle of water at night in case that happens, and I think it is important to eat the foods slowly as eating too fast can make the food not move around in the body and it can cause the body to be upset. I think that we should see which foods are easy to chew and if it is hard for us to do then make it easier so that it can go in your mouth and you can enjoy the taste and also have a good time in the process as food is needed for the body to function and having nice food can make the meal more pleasant. I try and have a positive attitude so that I can enjoy the meal and having stress can mean you may have tension and not enjoy the meal and it is important to remove the worry you have as that can make you content and also your body will be relaxed and take the meal in and I drink a glass of water or fruit juice with my meals.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

Not really... I mean, I used to have this fear when I was a kid while trying to ingest pills when I was sick, and I think that I still kind of have that fear with pills but I make sure of always having a big amount of water just in case that something unexpected happens. But I don't really have this fear with regular food or even candies, though.

 

[rz3300]

Well I do not really have a fear of choking when it comes to eating, but you all would get a pretty good laugh at watching me try to take pills. You would laugh at first, and then probably feel so sorry me and start to get sad. I am terrible at it though, and it takes me about two minutes to calm myself down, take deep breaths, get the pill just right and the water just right, and then finally I can get it to go down....sometimes. I would say 25% of the time I can get it down, and 10% of the time I end up gagging and coughing, which is embarrassing. It is all a mental thing too, which is weird. I cannot see anything changing anytime soon either, so it will be a fun rest of my life with pills.

 

[Deeishere111]

I understand about the fear of choking. I have to take potassium and the pills are extremely big. I have taken them a few times and felt like I was choking. It gets stuck in my throat that I have to force more water down. The doctor does not recommend that the pill be broken down but I have to break it down. The feeling of choking is overwhelming to the point where I would just skip taking them. Now I could get the potassium in liquid form but my insurance doesn't cover it. I would have to pay $50 a month just for liquid which I can't afford.

 

[janemariesayed]

Donkey's years ago I was a cook in a residential home for the elderly. I was dishing up the dinners when a chip fell off a plate onto the side. I picked it up and popped it into my mouth but as I swallowed I started choking. It scared the life out of me and quickly got myself a glass of water which helped. I realised then how easy it is to choke on food. What I have done ever since is make sure that I have a drink next to me when I eat. Drinking a few sips of water can help to dislodge anything that may get stuck while going down. I even give my dogs water if they start choking on their food. Sometimes it's difficult to get them to drink on command, so I have a bottle with a squirty type lid and literally just squirt it in their mouth so they have to swallow it. It always seems to work to dislodge any food stuck. I have never heard of any particular food making people choke, like steak as you say. But I have heard of people choking on fish bones. Because of that I only eat fish fillet but as it never happens with steak I just go ahead and enjoy it.

 

[Concernedgal]

I don't like meat with bones in it. I'm always afraid that i'm going to swallow and choke on the bones. Boneless only for me . Please.

 

[Decentlady]

Chocking while eating is nothing uncommon. It can happen to anyone and so I believe it shouldn't be magnified or else it may start looking like a problem.

Like most people have said eat small bites and chew them properly. Enjoy the taste and concentrate on the environment more than the stress of chocking.

I am sure you will start to see how normal it is to eat that particular dish just like any other.

 

[misszerable]

I won't allow the fear of choking to keep me away from my favorite foods! In fact, I'll eat slowly an deliberately to enjoy whatever it is that's on my table and that's not just to avoid choking. That will also assure me that my stomach will not have a hard time digesting the food. And oh, many years back, and this is a true story, I almost ate broken pieces of glass that was mingled with the food which my stepmother cooked. I'm not trying to make it appear that she tried to harm me or my siblings in any way. Thankfully, I heard a voice at the back of my head telling me to 'eat slowly'. Immediately after, I chewed on the glass and spit it out. Yeah, there's a God up there looking after his children. I can't help saying that. As for choking, I taught myself the Heimlich maneuver so I can be a blessing to others when they choke on their food.