Why fish bones get stuck in the throat so often and what are the dangers of this

For 20 minutes, she gasped for air until a makeup artist was able to dislodge the bone using the Heimlich technique (also known as abdominal thrusts), The Converastion writes.

Stories like this hit the news on a regular basis. The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom, for example, once faced a similar problem. Fish bones are one of the most common reasons for emergency department visits. It is especially common in Asian countries, where fish is an important part of the diet. In China, the problem is so common that specialised fish bone removal clinics have sprung up.

Fish is rich in protein, minerals and heart-healthy fatty acids, but it has a serious drawback - a lot of small, thin "needle-like" bones, especially in fillets. Cod has about 17 of them, salmon has about 30, and some species have more than a hundred. Eel bones often appear in emergency room reports, and flounder bones are especially dangerous because of their number and size: they easily get stuck deep in the throat.

Even with careful cutting of fish, some of the bones inevitably remain in the flesh. If such a bone is accidentally swallowed, it can cause not only choking, but also other serious complications. Most often bones get stuck in the tonsils, in the pharynx, in the so-called pear pocket (a small depression involved in the swallowing process), and in the oesophagus - the channel connecting the throat and the stomach.

If a fish bone becomes lodged, a person usually experiences a cough, a "prickly" or foreign body sensation in the throat, pain, difficulty swallowing, and sometimes blood in the saliva. However, symptoms do not always occur. In some cases, people live with a stuck bone for months without realising what is causing the problem. For example, in 2012, a 69-year-old Japanese woman went to the doctor because of a tumour on her neck - and it turned out that for nine months she had had a 32-millimetre-long fish bone sitting in her throat.

If the bone goes undetected, it can shift inside the neck over time. Repeated swallowing movements can push it through the wall of the oesophagus into the tight spaces of the neck. There, the bone poses a serious threat to major vessels and nerves, including the carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain.

The bone can also damage the thyroid gland, causing inflammation and abscesses. In severe cases, septicaemia and other life-threatening complications can develop. There have been cases where bones have migrated into the muscles of the neck, under the skin and even outwards, as recently happened to a Thai woman.

If the bone has left the oesophagus and pharynx, it is a surgical emergency: it cannot be removed on its own. In such cases, the bone can infect the spaces around the heart or penetrate the spine, causing secondary infections and even paralysis.

That's why if you suspect you've swallowed a fish bone and it's stuck, it's important to try to remove it as soon as possible and seek medical attention if symptoms persist.

What you can and can't do - doctor's advice

Sometimes a strong cough is enough for the bone to come out on its own. This is most likely if the bone is lodged in the airways. But there is a downside: the bone can dislodge, go further down the digestive tract and damage the intestinal wall.

Bones that are deeply embedded in the wall of the oesophagus, in some cases can eventually dislodge themselves, but most often they have to be removed endoscopically - with a special probe, which is inserted through the mouth.

Popular "tips" like swallowing bread or a banana to "push" the bone into the stomach are not scientifically proven. Moreover, such an attempt can make the situation worse: further blocking the oesophagus or airways and pushing the bone even deeper into the tissue.

If coughing does not help and the bone sensation, pain or other symptoms persist, it is wise to see a doctor as soon as possible.

In a situation where the person cannot speak or breathe, it may be necessary to perform abdominal thrusts (Heimlich technique) to dislodge the foreign body. Emergency medical assistance should be summoned.