Posted on 09/16/2016 8:18:14 AM PDT by Hojczyk
Aspiration generally leads to bacterial pneumonia along with some degree of chemical pneumonitis. Viruses and fungi can also cause pneumonia but not generally with aspiration. Your immune system usually fights these invaders off, preventing them from infecting your lungs. However, there are occasions when the germs can overpower the immune system.
Under normal circumstances, only air should enter the lungs. Aspiration pneumonia is more likely to occur if something is preventing your normal gag reflex. This can be due to a brain injury (which can occur due to stroke or trauma), medical conditions such as myasthenia gravis, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), or even excessive use of alcohol, prescription, or illegal drugs. Aspiration pneumonia can also be associated with esophageal disorders, anesthesia, and dental problems that interfere with chewing or swallowing. Sometimes, the swallowing muscles can become weak with age or inactivity, for example, a patient who is on mechanical ventilation for several days or longer. Aspiration can occur in these situations as well. Finally, persons with normal swallowing and a normal gag reflex can aspirate and develop pneumonia if their food or drink simply “goes down the wrong way.”
Some people can effectively expel enough of the aspirate to prevent pneumonia by creating a strong cough, but some people have an impaired coughing ability. This is especially common in people who are unconscious or have brain injuries that lead to a decreased level of consciousness. Many of us aspirate small amounts of saliva each night while sleeping but we do not develop aspiration pneumonia due both to our ability to clear the aspirate and a fairly healthy immune system. Persons that are immunocompromised such as those on chemotherapy or other immunosuppressive drugs are at higher risk for developing pneumonia
(Excerpt) Read more at healthline.com ...
AKA Clinton Fatigue
A symptom of something more serious.
“...... is preventing your normal gag reflex. “
Errr..ummmm..ah heck some jokes just write themselves.
A coroner explained it thus: throwing up and food entering the lungs. It was the death knell for an alcoholic friend of mine.
If you aspirate (inhale) food, liquid, or vomit into your lungs the contamination causes pneumonia. You can also aspirate food or liquid from your stomach that backs up into your esophagus when you are drunk or merely sleeping in a horizontal position. It often happens in the elderly when they have swallowing problems.
I recently had to care for a woman who developed severe aspiration pneumonia during minor surgery. In this case, the GE junction was blocked due to stomach cancer and the surgeon and anesthesiologist did not know it prior to surgery. This blockage causes the esophagus to act as a reservoir for food and liquids which emptied into the lungs during anesthesia for surgery.
A symptom of this is when a person wakes up during the night with coughing spells, spitting up phlegm. They find that sleeping upright in a recliner chair protects the esophagus contents from spilling out and into the lungs. (I have this problem is I eat late at night prior to bed.)
In this person the esophagus contents spilled into the lungs causing aspiration pneumonia and a side effect was complete amnesia. A barium swallow is often used to determine the root cause of the aspiration if there is an esophagus problem.
Hillary is an overweight alcoholic. She probably has acid reflux, or GERD as it is called. That can cause a chronic dry cough, and it can cause the aspiration of stomach acids into the lungs if one is passed out drunk when it happens.
Killed my brother.
One would think it's pneumonia you aspire to.
For many alcoholics.....
Sorry for your loss - prayers for you and yours...
I know. Very sad.
Thanks. It was about 20 yrs. ago. He was 20 yrs. older than me so he was about my age then. 74
Indeed it is, particularly since there is a way out
Stop drinking?
... It is usually secondary to a neurological pathology — MS, Parkinson, Stroke, Dementia ... loss of the ability to manage swallowing saliva —especially while sleeping or unconscious.
... The human body makes a couple of quarts of saliva per day.
I had it after carotid artery surgery. It is not fun. I had a feeding tube for a while.
My wife is a doctor, and she has asked why Hillary has coughing fits if it’s not aspiration pneumonia.
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