How to get rid of that annoying lump in your throat

Constantly clearing your throat, hoarseness, struggling to swallow? What sounds like symptoms of having a cold is an annoying year-round reality for some. If you have a foreign body sensation in your throat which literally cuts off your voice, the medical term for this is «globus pharyngeus» or simply «globus». More commonly, people to refer to it as a «lump in the throat».

The causes are usually harmless but if the feeling doesn’t go away over a longer period of time, possible causes should be checked by a doctor.

Reflux or a tumour? What’s behind globus

First things first, the lump in your throat shouldn’t worry you. The term describes a non-specific foreign body sensation or feeling of tightness in the larynx. It’s a discomfort that’s only rarely caused by an actual narrowing of the larynx. And it’s certainly not a real lump. Nevertheless, the feeling can be very uncomfortable and annoying.

Symptoms include increased mucus production or an unpleasant feeling of dryness, difficulty speaking or empty swallowing through to hoarseness, difficulty clearing your throat or losing your voice. They can make speech-intensive jobs or small talk at family get-togethers a difficult and exhausting exercise.

The most common cause of globus pharyngeus is reflux. While you sleep, stomach acid passes through the oesophagus to the larynx and irritates it. According to estimates, up to 68 per cent of globus pharyngeus patients have deviant reflux. The good news is that reflux symptoms can be managed with a few lifestyle changes. But more on that later.

Occasionally globus is triggered by physiological causes such as: diseases of the thyroid gland, inflammation of the larynx or tumours in the throat area.

Psychological triggers: foreign body sensation due to stress

I’ve got a lump in my throat, I’m speechless and bad news is hard to swallow. These expressions alone show that mental strain and stress can also trigger globus.

Older studies showed that in 96 per cent of those affected, symptoms worsen when they’re under severe emotional stress. A recent study in the MRIMS Journal of Health Sciences comes to similar conclusions: in 28 per cent of study participants, the sensation of having a lump in the throat was an accompanying syndrome of a diagnosed anxiety disorder.

Globus can therefore also be a symptom of stress. This is because mental stress doesn’t just take place in your head, it also manifests itself physically. Muscle tension in the larynx may therefore be the cause of the unpleasant lumpy feeling just as often if not more often..

Diagnosis: get globus confirmed by a doctor

In most cases, the causes of globus are harmless and you can manage them yourself. However, if the feeling lasts for days, reoccurs or is accompanied by other symptoms, such as difficulty eating and drinking, a medical examination is advisable. This way, more serious diagnoses, for example trouble with the thyroid gland or a tumour, can either be ruled out or detected at an early stage.

What you can do about that lumpy feeling

If no serious medical causes are found for this annoying sensation, globus will probably go away on its own. Here’s what you can do to relieve the pressure in your throat:

1. Look at your lifestyle

Drinking alcohol in the evening, having lots of coffee or a late dinner are often triggers of acid reflux and with it globus. So if you feel a lump in your throat or are more likely to suffer from heartburn, changing your lifestyle may help.

2. Reduce stress

Pressure at work or in your private life often turns into pressure in your throat. That’s why it helps to reduce stress in everyday life and take time out to relax. Things that help you relax are, of course, individual. However any kind of exercise, whether it’s endurance training or a relaxed walk outdoors, has been proven to reduce cortisol in the blood and is therefore an effective way out of the stress spiral.

Breathing exercises also calm the autonomic nervous system and reduce perceived stress.

3. Use household remedies

There are a number of home remedies you can try to relieve a dry throat or increased mucus production. Lukewarm herbal teas help the body to loosen mucus and reduce the restricted feeling in the throat. Teas with thyme, sage, ribwort or fennel are particularly good for this. The warmth of the tea also helps your body to relieve muscle tension in the larynx. In general, if you feel a lump in your throat coming on you should keep hydrated.