DS 11 feels he has something stuck in his throat, how can I help??

[Athyriumm]

Last night he told me that a piece of pizza had got stuck in his throat. I told him to sip warm drinks etc to make the pizza soggy if it was still there. He can swallow and breathe fine incidentally. But he is pretty miserable today. Its really sore he says. I can't believe it can still be there?? Anything I can do?

Suggest seeking medical advice.

It sounds like it scratched his throat on the way down.
It's horrible but goes after a while.
I'm not medically qualified though so seek professional advice if necessary

He may have a throat infection. It often feels like something gets stuck and you can't clear it. If he's in pain I'd call 111 and see if you can get an out of hours appointment. He either needs the obstruction cleared or possibly antibiotics

He is otherwise fine - went to the park with his mate earlier! But came back grumpy about his throat. Perhaps I should just pass it by 111.

My hay fever is bad atm. Throat feels like something in it...

Scratched his throat, or an allergy. I had dust-mite allergy that produced this feeling.

Hmm. Im very hay fevery atm too. He isnt usually tho, plus he is adamant it was the pizza!

Aspirin might help if it's a scratch.

My daughter used to get tonsil stones fairly often, these can feel like something stuck in there and be painful and scratchy when swallowing. Might be worth a trip to the dr.

Well feel a bit of a fraud but phoned 111 to be on the safe side...said no to pretty much all the scary health questions but never the less was told that they suggest he should be seen so someone from out of hours will call me back. It does seem to be getting more painful so hopefully it was the right thing to do.

If you're worried, it's always the right thing to do

Definitely DON'T give him aspirin!! Don't give aspirin to a child at all, ever. Google Reyes disease.

It will be surface damage on the way down. Happened to me after taking big pills with no water. It might take a few days to go away.
Gargling with vodka works a treat but in your son's case he'll have to make do with painkillers!

Didn't know that about aspirin, good warning thanks.

Hi OP this probably doesn't apply to your son but I thought I would post it in case useful to you or others. If he suffers at all from anxiety, or can be prone to pressure/perfectionism, it is worth knowing that an incident like this can develop into an anxiety disorder, very typical for this age group. eg
Pizza gets stuck
Naturally, child is alarmed
They overthink
'What if I choke,'
'what if it's still there'
Because they keep thinking about it, they feel like it is still there (plus anxiety can cause the throat to construct)
So it feels like it's still there
Etc etc and child is in an anxiety loop.

Parents should reassure, tell them it was uncomfortable but not harmful, and redirect their attention (distract). You could even show him that if he really concentrates on ANY sensation, it will feel funny, for instance if he concentrates on his thumb it will feel like it's throbbing, even though it's perfectly fine - so he should not overfocus on the feeling in his throat. They should also try to ensure there is no avoidance of similar foods - don't pressure but have pizza again soon. This is the mental health side so do listen to medical advice too of course! But if it seems like anxiety don't medicalise it too much either.