Overview
A lump feeling (Globus sensation or Globus nervosus) in the throat is quite common. It’s an annoying feeling like something is stuck in the throat. Usually this feeling is at the level of the larynx. The lump feeling in the throat is in many cases a feeling for which there is no clear cause. People are often very worried about this feeling, but in the vast majority of cases it is completely innocent.
Causes
The globus feeling has a number of causes. In most cases (23-68%) irritation due to backflow of stomach acid (reflux) is the cause. Another known cause is increased muscle tension in the upper sphincter of the esophagus. The kibble feeling can also be the result of an enlarged tonga mandible. These are located on the back of the tongue and are there for the defense in the throat. It can also be caused by an increased tension of the muscles of the larynx and in the neck. When the voice is used incorrectly, part of these muscles are overloaded, causing a lump feeling.
People with a lump feeling often tend to scrape their throat, but this can actually aggravate the symptoms, because this increases the muscle tension in the throat. Also, a chronic strep throat can cause irritation of the mucous membrane in the throat. This can be caused, for example, by nasal and nasal sinus problems, irritating substances or dry air. Smoking, alcohol and coffee or irritating substances such as licorice, peppermint and chocolate can maintain these complaints. Stress and emotional problems can also contribute to the globus feeling. In everyday life we all know that feeling with a strong emotion, “a lump in the throat”.
Causes globus
- Heartburn
- Increased muscle tension in the head and neck area
- Wrong use of voice (wrong breathing and posture)
- Improper voice hygiene such as coughing and throat scraping
- Psychological tensions
Treatment
Often the reassurance that the ENT doctor does not see any abnormalities already gives enough reassurance to make the globus feeling disappear.
Which complaints belong to heartburn?
With heartburn you may have to deal with the following complaints:
- A burning, painful feeling in your stomach
- Pressing, sometimes painful feeling behind the sternum
- Sometimes radiating pain to the neck, back and shoulder blades
- A bloated gut feeling
- The complaints can sometimes resemble heart complaints.
Certain foods and beverages increase the risk of heartburn:
- Fried foods
- Fatty foods
- Citrus fruits
- Full-fat dairy products
- Carbonated beverages, such as Cola or Fanta
- Coffee
- Alcohol
- Spicy or strongly spicy food
In addition, stress can play a role.
These beverages or food can provide relief:
- Ginger tea
- Yogurt (with as low a percentage of fat as possible)
- Milk (with the lowest possible fat percentage, such as almond milk)
- A banana
There are also medications that you can get for heartburn. In consultation with your doctor, you can get these on prescription.
Improper voice use and voice hygiene
Voice hygiene is the care for a healthy voice. This includes all measures intended to improve the health of the voice and the functioning of the vocal cords. Incorrect use of voice and voice abuse can play an important role in the development and persistence of globus complaints. Here is a short summary of our extensive leaflet on voice hygiene (if you also want the extensive leaflet, you can ask for it).
- No smoking
- Breathe at rest through your nose
- Avoid speaking in a noisy environment
- Drink plenty of water
- Avoid scraping, coughing and coughing as much as possible; the vocal cords hit each other hard while coughing, coughing and scraping; the throat and larynx become irritated; the irritated mucous membranes produce mucus again that must be coughed away, chastised or scraped away; this leads to more irritation; drink a sip of water instead or try to swallow the itch;
- Do not use hot or sharp sweets
- Don’t shout, scream or scream
