Signs and dangers of gastrointestinal foreign body

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Le Nguyen Hong Tram - Gastroenterologist - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Nha Trang International Hospital

1. Having a foreign body in the digestive tract

Digestive tract remains is one of the common emergencies, usually choking on food, choking on fish bones or getting other types of foreign bodies such as toothpicks, bamboo, nails... into the upper gastrointestinal tract, usually food. manage. Having a gastrointestinal foreign body is very dangerous and requires immediate treatment, otherwise it will leave some serious complications such as bleeding, abscess formation, mediastinal perforation or puncture and damage to the organs. large vessels around the esophagus.
Some common causes of gastrointestinal foreign bodies in clinical practice are:
Eating too quickly and drinking too quickly, swallowing in a hurry, so food particles with foreign bodies inside are not recognized and disease People swallow them into the digestive tract Habits of eating while talking Habits of chewing poorly and carelessly Older patients can't bite and tear food due to weak teeth, so they tend to swallow chunks of food with bones or foreign bodies into the esophagus without chewing Habit of hastily taking medicine without removing the shell contains sharp edges Habit of using bamboo toothpicks after eating and taking bamboo toothpicks.

Some other diseases also cause gastrointestinal foreign bodies such as esophageal stricture, esophageal spasm, esophageal ulcer scarring, achalasia, pyloric stenosis, duodenal bulbar stenosis... esophagus such as mediastinal tumor People using dentures People who have had gastric and duodenal surgery Children with the habit of sucking on toys Common types of gastrointestinal foreign bodies can be listed as follows:
Real foreign bodies : Fish bones, animal bones, bamboo toothpicks, ice needles... have the highest percentage of all types of gastrointestinal foreign bodies Foreign bodies are foods that are not chewed properly such as large chunks of meat, vegetable buns... Foreign bodies are food residues that form into lumps: This is a type of foreign body in the digestive tract caused by residues, plant fibers, fruit seeds, hairs, hair, and mucus from the stomach. The typical signs of a person with a gastrointestinal foreign body are as follows:
Foreign body sensation, also known as swallowing sensation, pain when swallowing Can't eat or drink When trying to eat or drink, the patient will vomit Symptoms of vomiting: Shortness of breath, chest tightness, burning pain behind the sternum When having a gastrointestinal foreign body in the stomach, the foreign body, possibly a food mass, will cause obstruction of the pylorus and duodenal bulb of the patient. At the same time, the patient also has other symptoms such as temporary eating, nausea, epigastric pain, undigested food, vomiting food fluid. In more severe cases, when patients with gastrointestinal foreign bodies do not recognize the above signs and seek a doctor late, it is possible that the gastrointestinal foreign body will scratch, even tear and infect. Gastrointestinal tract infection, infectious manifestations such as fever, sore throat, sputum and food in the throat, vomiting after eating are the most typical symptoms in this condition.

2. Endoscopy to pick up foreign body

With gastrointestinal foreign bodies in the pharynx or lower throat, the patient will be removed directly from the throat. However, with deeper gastrointestinal foreign bodies, such as the stomach or esophagus, other methods are needed to treat.
One of the most popular and effective methods today to treat gastrointestinal foreign bodies is the endoscopic foreign body removal technique. This method is performed safely, can both diagnose gastrointestinal foreign bodies and can intervene to remove foreign bodies from the digestive tract out of the patient's body. The patient will have a clinical examination as well as an X-ray to determine the location of the gastrointestinal foreign body ̧ and will do some pre-anaesthetic tests necessary to conduct endoscopic removal of the gastrointestinal foreign body.
Esophageal foreign body endoscopy uses flexible endoscopes to perform the technique of picking up foreign bodies in the stomach, however, if there are some pathological cases, the foreign body is too large or there is a risk of causing damage. During laparoscopic surgery, the patient should be treated with open surgery.
In addition, in cases where the gastrointestinal foreign body has left complications on the patient, the gastrointestinal tract has formed sites of inflammation or abscesses due to patients coming to the hospital during this period. If the stage is too late, after endoscopic removal of the foreign body, the patient will continue to be monitored and treated as an inpatient at the hospital after the laparoscopic surgery is over, usually with antibiotic treatment to fight infection along with leading save.

The most important thing to prevent the possibility of having a gastrointestinal foreign body is that the patient must avoid the dangerous risks that lead to this disease such as eating too fast, the habit of sucking the toothpick, the habit of sucking on the toys of the patient. children or some diseases can lead to foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract.
Having a gastrointestinal foreign body such as choking fish bones or choking on food is a dangerous gastrointestinal emergency, potentially leading to life-threatening complications. Therefore, in order to avoid gastrointestinal foreign bodies, patients need to have scientific eating habits, avoid allowing foreign bodies to have the opportunity to enter the digestive tract and as soon as there are suspicious symptoms, they should immediately go to a medical facility. to be detected and treated as quickly as possible before the disease progresses more seriously.
Vinmec International General Hospital with a system of modern facilities, medical equipment and a team of experts and doctors with many years of experience in neurological examination and treatment, patients can completely peace of mind for examination and treatment at the Hospital.

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