Coughing is one of the most crucial reflex actions that help you clear substances from your air passages. In fact, coughing during meals might just save your life in an emergency. However, frequent postprandial coughing can be very annoying, frustrating, and at times a sign of a more serious health condition.

While coughing after eating is common, there are many reasons why you might experience it. These underlying reasons may cause your cough to be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term).

Acute coughing often originates from just one incident, such as inhaling food and liquids into the windpipe or, having something “go down the wrong pipeAmerican Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. Aspiration. Chronic coughing often occurs due to acid reflux or asthma. However, proper diagnosis could facilitate better treatment of these symptoms.

What Does Coughing After Eating Feel Like?

The symptoms of postprandial cough vary and usually depend on the cause of the coughing that’s being precipitated by the postprandial activity. A person who coughs after meals might experience a wet or dry cough.

Wet coughs can occur because of inhaled liquid or an increase in mucus behind the throat. Dry cough may result from irritant in the throat, including dust or air that is excessively dry. Depending upon the cause, post-meal coughing could be a sharp, forceful cough for only a short duration or a long-term mild cough

Causes

There are so many possible reasons for coughing after eating. You might cough after a meal simply because you inhaled a sip of your drink while talking. You might live with an underlying health condition that causes irritation or increased mucus in your throat.

If you experience symptoms, visit your healthcare provider so that you understand the cause of coughing and can receive the proper treatment to get relief.

Aspiration

Aspiration is a medical term for when something goes down the wrong pipe. Simply, a person inhales food, drinks, or even saliva into their windpipe, as it is called the trachea instead of pushing it into their food pipe, as it is referred to as the esophagus. This causes the body tocough by naturally pushing the substance back out of one’s windpipe before it reaches the lungs.

Most of us aspirate involuntarily sometimes. Dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing affects most aspirants who aspirate often. Several etiologies have been advanced in the development of dysphagia, all which lead to trouble in bringing food from the mouth into the esophagus. This disease afflicts elderly patients more than others.

Have had a stroke

• Experience dental problems

• Have health conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease or muscular dystrophy

• Use a feeding tube

• Excessive alcohol use

Acid Reflux

Acids coming from the stomach move backwards towards the oesophagus to cause acid reflux. The technical term used is gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Acid reflux happens to anybody. However, the situation changes for the worse, when the level of GER goes to severe levels or even continues over time as it progresses into gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD affects 20% of United States population. Another related problem called laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) takes place when the reflux flows backward toward the voice box and oesophagus.

GERD and LPR both also typically lead to chronic coughing, especially following a meal. This may occur at least partly because the retrograde flow of acid irritates the esophagus lining. Other symptoms of GERD and LPR also may cause coughing, including:

• Regurgitation (backflow of stomach contents into the throat)

• Excessive mucus production

• Something feeling stuck in your throat

• A burning sensation in your throat

• Difficulty breathing

Allergies

Allergies are the number one reason for chronic cough, and they can occur following eating and at any other time of the day. An allergy is defined as a state that develops when your body’s immune system mischaracterizes a harmless substance as dangerous and attacks it. In medicine, this condition is known as an allergic reaction. Allergies can be to foods or things that occur in the environment

Common food allergens include eggs, dairy, nuts, shellfish, and wheat. Common environmental allergens include tree pollen, pet dander, and mold.

The severity of an allergic reaction and symptoms may differ among people, much like allergens themselves. In addition to coughing after eating, difficulty in breathing or itchy rashes on the skin could be symptoms of the disease.

Asthma

Asthma causes inflammation, swelling, and tightness of airways in people with the disease. People with asthma often present with coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. For others, coughing might be the only symptom because they have an asthma known as cough-variant asthma

• Increased mucus production

• Food additives

• Inhaling irritants or allergens

• Laughing while eating

Postnasal Drip

Postnasal drip is the feeling you may get if mucus gathers in the back of your throat. While people all naturally generate mucus in their throats, some conditions can cause you to have more mucus than you are accustomed to, and the only way to get rid of it is by coughing. You may acquire postnatal drip due to the following reasons:

• Viral infections like the common cold or influenza (flu)

• Sinus infections

• Allergies, especially to foods like dairy

• Exposure to cold or dry air
• Medications that increase mucus production

When to Contact a Healthcare Provider

Everyone coughs after eating sometimes, and there is usually nothing to worry about about coughing. However, if you find that you always cough after meals, seek a diagnosis from your healthcare provider. You might be able to evade serious complications about the coughing caused by knowing what is causing it.

The postprandial cough may first require you to consult your ear, nose, and throat specialist after receiving a recommendation from your ear, nose, and throat care doctor. That way, various diagnostic tests aimed at determining what has caused symptoms could be offered, such as the following

• Laryngoscopy: Uses a flexible or rigid scope with a light and a camera attached (endoscope) to visualize your larynx and vocal cords for inflammation, swelling, or structural abnormalities (e.g., polyps)

• Upper endoscopy (EGD): Using an endoscope with a light and a camera attached to look inside your nose or throat (e.g., if GERD is the suspected cause)

• Esophageal pH test: Tests how often acid from your stomach goes up your esophagus, which is the tube between your throat and stomach, and how long it stays there

Other imaging studies, such as X-rays or computed tomography (CT) scans, may be performed to look for evidence of inflammation or trauma. A modified barium swallow is a type of X-ray test that can visualize your swallowing mechanism. This may be done if your healthcare provider has concerns about aspiration-when you inhale something into your lungs.

When the underlying cause of your coughing is learned by your primary care provider and ENT, they can help you to develop a treatment plan that can offer symptom relief

How To Treat a Cough After Meals

The general aim of treating postprandial cough is to alleviate symptoms. Treatment is determined by what is causing the coughing; it may involve one or several of the following:

Dietary changes: In case you constantly aspirate liquids, then only thick foods would help you not cough. In the case of food allergies or asthma, it helps to avoid food that triggers the cough. If acid reflux is the cause, then the limiting of acidic, spicy, fatty foods, and caffeine and alcohol may provide some relief.

Medications: GERD and LPR can be managed with symptomatic medications that include antacids, H2 blockers, and proton pump inhibitors. Asthma patients are advised to open up their airways using either anti-inflammatory drugs or bronchodilators. Over-the-counter antihistamines can help manage symptoms due to food and environmental allergies.

How to Prevent Coughing After Eating

If your coughs after eating a meal cause you a lot of discomfort, then here are some tips to minimize how often you cough. To help minimize coughing after eating, make these prevention strategies:

• Eat slowly

• Do not talk while eating

• Do not lay down while eating

• Wait for two to three hours upon finishing a meal to lie down

• Hydrate with water to help liquefy the mucus in your throat

• Treat diseases such as GERD and asthma

• Take prescribed over-the-counter (OTC) medications for acid reflux and environmental allergies.

Complications

Each cause of coughing after eating has its own possible complications, including

Aspiration: If coughing does not help your food or drinks go into the correct pipe, inhaled substances will enter the lungs. This brings bacteria into the lungs, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia, which is a medical emergency. Choking is another and more common compilation of aspirating food.

GERD can cause acid indigestion – a burning feeling in the chest, often experienced as heartburn. GERD can also cause problems with tooth erosion and hoarseness. Very severe cases may cause inflammation of the esophagus, followed by constriction, sores, and finally bleeding.

Allergies: Severe allergic reaction leads to anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening reaction that occurs all over the body and needs immediate medical treatment. If you have trouble breathing, confusion, lightheadedness, or changes in your heartbeat following food consumption, dial 911 or go to the emergency department as soon as possible.

A Quick Review

Coughing after eating can be caused by many reasons ranging from food entering the wrong pipe or living with underlying health conditions like asthma.

You can try to limit and manage how often you are coughing after eating by using remedies such as medication and changes in diet. Because chronic cough after eating can sometimes lead to serious complications, early diagnosis and treatment are key.