Do you know what is the number one ENT emergency in Singapore? Throat fishbone! Fishbones which become stuck in people’s throats! Here is a fishbone which I retrieved in clinic. The fishbone came from the throat of a 35 year old lady who had been eating a seabass fillet. She suddenly felt a nasty pain upon swallowing. These fishbones can worm their way into the tonsils, tongue, back of throat, oesophagus and even airway. Throat fishbones can be very difficult to find especially when they have been buried in your throat for a few days. The fishbone in throat becomes deeply embedded, due to surrounding soft tissue swelling.

It’s even worse, if the fishbone snaps and breaks into two, leaving the deeper part still stuck in your throat!

Look at this long fishbone from a patient’s throat! I “fished” the fishbone out from her throat at midnight, after she had tried repeatedly to retch it up unsuccessfully.

DOES AN X-RAY RULE OUT A FISHBONE FOR SURE?

Not all fishbones can be detected on a plain X-ray and may actually be “invisible”. So just because the fishbone is not present on the X-ray, doesn’t mean that there is no bone. We may have to arrange a CT scan of your neck and chest to hunt down the missing fishbone.  They can be really troublesome to find, so please be careful when eating your next fishy meal.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I GET A FISHBONE STUCK IN MY THROAT?

Here are some simple tips to try to avoid getting a fishbone stuck inside your throat. What do you do if you have a fishbone stuck in Singapore?:

1. If you must eat fish, chew your food carefully and slowly, as some fishbones can be rather fine.
2. Please try not to wolf down your food, even if it is “just” porridge, as there may be small pieces of broken bone inside. Fish fillets, including your fish and chips, though meant to be boneless, may still contain tiny slivers of bone.
3. If you have ended up swallowing a bone by mistake, please don’t listen to the old wives’ tale of swallowing vinegar to try to “dissolve” the fishbone in throat! This is not going to happen at all and will probably make you feel worse. Fizzy drinks like Coca cola are highly unlikely to help either.
4. If the pain inside your throat persists, then you need to see a top ENT specialist in Singapore who will try to find out where this foreign body has gone. Has the fishbone in throat caused any injury inside? This means going to the clinic during the daytime. You may need to go to the Emergency Dept if it occurs after working hours,

Share this blog via: