Table of contents:
- Is there any harm in swallowing a hard candy that is still whole?
- What to do after that?
- 1. Drink lots of water
- 2. Eat soft foods
Eating candy is usually a powerful way to get rid of sleepiness, or just a distraction to kill boredom. Moreover, candy is now available in a wide selection of flavors that can be tailored to your tastes and needs. However, what if you accidentally swallow some hard candy that is still intact? Is there a way to solve it?
Is there any harm in swallowing a hard candy that is still whole?
While engrossed in sucking or chewing hard candy, suddenly the candy is swallowed whole so that it gets stuck in your throat. Or even, maybe not stuck, but you feel something strange because you swallowed a hard candy that is still quite large.
Actually, swallowing a food involves a series of fairly complex processes. Starting from chewing it until it is smooth, moving food from the mouth to the back of the throat with the help of the tongue, until the food enters the esophagus until it ends in the stomach.
When food accidentally goes straight into the throat without chewing it first, for example swallowing hard candy, of course something seems strange because it is different from the process it should be. It's just that this condition is nothing to worry about as long as it doesn't obstruct breathing, or until you experience chest pain.
In short, the hard candy will still move towards the digestive system even though it is still intact. The digestive system will process hard candy along with other foods, until it leaves the body as feces.
What to do after that?
Almost all cases of ingestion of hard candy are nothing to worry about because they are digested naturally in the digestive tract. However, if this condition makes you uncomfortable, the following ways can help restore it:
1. Drink lots of water
The saliva will usually act as a natural lubricant to move the stuck hard candy, or make its way up to the stomach. Also, you can speed up this process by downing a few glasses of water.
In addition to helping to clear a throat that may feel uncomfortable, the candy will reach the stomach more quickly and eventually pass through the feces. Especially if the hard candy is dry, drinking lots of water will help the candy move more easily.
2. Eat soft foods
Even though you are feeling uncomfortable because you have just swallowed a hard candy, eating soft food can slightly help the movement of the candy towards the digestive system. For example bananas, porridge, bread, brownie cakes, and others.
To make it easier, you can dip a piece of bread in a glass of warm milk to make it soft. Make sure you chew and swallow it slowly.
