Aspiration is a medical term for accidentally inhaling your food or liquid through your vocal cords into your airway, instead of swallowing through your food pipe, or esophagus, and into your stomach. Once past the vocal folds, the food or drink enters your windpipe, or trachea, and can pass into your lungs. It happens sometimes to healthy people who have food “going down the wrong pipe” while swallowing. When this happens, a normal voice box, or larynx, and trachea sense the food or drink, which triggers a strong cough to clear the item from your windpipe and protect your lungs.
Have you ever noticed that your favorite foods suddenly taste off or that everything has a metallic flavor? You might be experiencing Dysgeusia, a condition where your taste perception is altered. This issue is more common than you might think, affecting up to 17% of adults in the United States. Contact us at (203) 578-4630 to schedule an appointment.
