Is it true that it is good to drink Coca-Cola to prevent choking?

Can happen at any moment out of breath. But it’s true that Christmas dishes, with so many people and all this noise, may be more conducive to this. Therefore, it is advisable to exercise extreme caution, especially with children. If this happens, the product may get stuck. in the esophagus, so it does not interfere with breathing, but prevents other foods from entering the digestive tract. In this case, it is advisable to go to the emergency room as soon as possible. Often food will fall out on its own, but sometimes it may be necessary to remove it or check it. What we should not do under any circumstances is to get carried away by myths like the one that talks about benefits of coca cola for choking.

According to the defenders of this myth, drink gas This can help break down food stuck in the esophagus and make it easier to move down. There are so many people who claim that it has helped them that even some scientists doubt whether it is beneficial or not.

Therefore, a group of researchers from University of Amsterdam I just conducted a study aimed at precisely this test. Their conclusions on this matter are clear: the fact that Coca-Cola causes suffocation is just a myth. But why does this work for some people?

Checks for Coca-Cola choking

In this studio 51 patients participated who were in the hospital emergency room waiting room to undergo endoscopy. All of them had food stuck in their esophagus, so an endoscopy had to be done to find it and remove it.

While they were waiting half of them They were given Coca-Cola to drink while it was their turn. When the time came, if they were still unable to swallow saliva, an endoscopy was performed. If not, it was checked whether they had already recovered. In some cases, the clog disappeared on its own. But this happened in equal proportions in both groups. Thus, no benefit was found in Coca-Cola for choking.

Indeed, there were cases when they took soda and recovered. If it happens to a person in isolation and there is no other control group for comparison, you might think it was due to drinking alcohol. But in fact, the fact that they took him is nothing more than chance.

Other reasons to go to the emergency room

If food gets stuck, it may be because it is not chewed well, but it may also be due to a narrowing of the esophagus. This may be due to an external illness. Therefore, it is better to go to the emergency room and not resort to the Coca-Cola trick for choking. Not only because it is just a myth, but also because there are others. details that should be checked by a doctor.

Of course, if the obstruction is not in the esophagus and is interfering with breathing, there may not be time to get to the emergency room. In these cases Heimlich reception.

The Mayo Clinic also recommends delivering five blows to the back, followed by five thrusts to the abdomen. Of course, if this is a child or infant, other features must be taken into account.

Therefore, ideally, we should all know the basics of first aid. Hopefully we’ll never need to use them, but it’s good to have the knowledge just in case.