THROAT: faulty functioning of the flap of skin involved in swallowing &breathing...what conditions due to this

....can also affect a persons perception or awareness?





i had problems of this kind a number of year ago, and as well as acid reflux and a feeling of too much air in the lungs [like when you gulp down lucozade or fizzy drinks and the excess gas builds up and you want to burp to relieve the pressure] along with this came a weird feeling of reality being distorted so that people and objects seemed flatter and less three dimentional.





what might be the cause, and does this description coincide with a definate medical condition you know of?





the problem i had has never totally gone away, but seems to have been dormant for a good while.





it is not difficult to breathe IN, but something in the throat feels very retricted and pressured, and you cant seem expell or burp away the feeling of trapped air.





i dont know anything about physiology...is there one flap of skin that channels whats in-coming and out-going or R there 2 flaps: one for/to the lungs %26amp; one for/to the stomach?

THROAT: faulty functioning of the flap of skin involved in swallowing %26amp;breathing...what conditions due to this
Your symptom is closest to dysphagia. My bet would be on a diffuse muscular problem like chronic reflux esophagitis, or an esophageal web http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esophageal_... or .





You really need to get an upper endoscopy (esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy, or EGD). Contact a gastroenterologist or have your physician refer you to one.





You've already passed one useful (but dumb) test: the test of time (TOT). Since you're still alive, your symptoms are probably not due to anything gruesome like esophageal cancer or scleroderma. The TOT is a hell of a way to rule out lethal causes of a symptom - wait and see if you die* (also reliable for testing mushroms). But since you already took and passed the test, we might as well notice.





The closest thing to a flap separating the airway and esophagus is the larynx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larynx, disease of which can also cause dysphagia. Ear, nose and throat doctors specialize in this region.





(*but your HMO approves of your choice to keep it to yourself. TOT is the treatment of choice by HMOs for initial screening of all expensive illnesses)


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http://www.medfamily.org/diagnosis/D/dia...





Dysphagia - The sensation of difficulty swallowing. This is a disorder of esophageal transport and is a symptom of an underlying process. The problem is commonly divided into oropharyngeal and esophageal types.





SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:





Oropharyngeal type


• Choking with swallowing


• Coughing with swallowing


• Weak voice


• Aspiration pneumonia


• Weight loss





Esophageal type


• Pressure sensation in mid-chest (patient may localize pathology to correct anatomic site)


• Symptoms should distinguish whether dysphagia is for solids or liquids or both


• Aspiration pneumonia


• Weight loss


• Symptoms of GERD


• Longer time required to eat meals (patient unconsciously chews food more thoroughly)





CAUSES:





In children


• Malformations - congenital (esophageal atresia, choanal atresia)


• Malformations - acquired (corrosive or herpetic esophagitis)


• Neuromuscular/neurologic - delayed maturation, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy


• Gastroesophageal reflux disease





In adults


• Structural - tumors (cancer or benign), strictures (peptic, chemical, trauma, radiation), rings %26amp; webs, extrinsic compression (goiter)


• Gastroesophageal reflux disease


• Neuromuscular - achalasia, diffuse esophageal spasm, scleroderma, myasthenia gravis