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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Coughing Fit Remove A Piece Of Inhaled Glass From The Lungs?

my son inhaled a piece of glass, when we went to hospital it showed up as being in his lungs, the following morning it was still there, then the next morning a CT scan has shown its gone, is it possible he coughed it up when he had a bit of a coughing fit this morning
posted on Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Twitter Sun, 24 Jul 2016 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 25 Jul 2016 Last reviewed on
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Pulmonologist,  's  Response
Thanks for your question on Healthcare Magic.
I can understand your concern.
Yes it is quite possible.
See any foreign body (glass) in lungs will irritate bronchial mucosa.
This irritated mucosa will cause coughing to remove that foreign body.
This is the main mechanism or you cat say protective role of cough reflex.
Coughing expels small foreign bodies like peanut, glass pieces, dentures etc.
And this is confirmed by CT scan.
So no need to worry now.
Coughing spells have removed foreign body from lungs of your son.
Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wishing good health to your son. Thanks.
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Can Coughing Fit Remove A Piece Of Inhaled Glass From The Lungs?

Thanks for your question on Healthcare Magic. I can understand your concern. Yes it is quite possible. See any foreign body (glass) in lungs will irritate bronchial mucosa. This irritated mucosa will cause coughing to remove that foreign body. This is the main mechanism or you cat say protective role of cough reflex. Coughing expels small foreign bodies like peanut, glass pieces, dentures etc. And this is confirmed by CT scan. So no need to worry now. Coughing spells have removed foreign body from lungs of your son. Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wishing good health to your son. Thanks.