My 4 year old is having difficulty swallowing. What do you think it could be?

Question

For the past 5 days, EVERY TIME we eat, he gets food caught in his throat and has to... basically clear his throat. He doesn't do it when he drinks and he says it doesn't hurt. I thought at first maybe he just picked up a bad habbit but it really doesn't seem like it now. He also hasn't had a BM in at least 4 days. He's normally pretty regular.
I took him to see his doctor and he said that he didn't see or feel anything unusual but if the problem continues then I need to bring him back monday and they are going to set up running some tests.

Answer 1

if there is nothing physically wrong (based on exam by dr.), maybe he's just trying to get every one's attention at the table.

Answer 2

My 7-year-old recently was going through a similar problem...He was having occassional vomitting (only 3 times in a month and a half) and continuously kept clearing his throat. I was beginning to think that something seriously was wrong as he had never done anything like this in the past. The doctor saw nothing wrong with him, so we just started to watch him closer with certain foods- (i.e. milk products) Again, he had never experienced anything like this before- so I was watching for any little inkling that might help me to figure it out! After this continued a while longer I contacted the doctor again (I used to work for him) and told him that I really would like to check into this a little further. He was agreeable to that and ordered an abdominal x-ray. I took my son to the hospital and a few days later I got the results back......constipation! I hadn't realized it, but it had been several days since he had had a bowel movement! It seems like these symptoms would be unrelated, but I guess they kinda go hand n hand with eachother with the entire digestion process.
So, in short, he was started on some medication to try to help with his bowels and he has been entirely symptom-free for the last 2 weeks! I am happy that we finally figured it out and I am confident that you will figure out what is going on with your little guy too! Sometimes these childhood symptoms can drive us parents absolutely crazy when they start up out of no where, but the best advice I can give you is to not do too much "researching" on the internet (because you will worry yourself sick by trying to figure out what's going on with him) and also, just keep in contact with your doctor and let him know you are worried. They are usually really good about doing a few extra tests to help mom reach peace-of-mind even if they are confident that nothing critical is going on in the first place.
***Take Care****

Answer 3

If he has changed the volume of food he is eating, he will likely have less bowel movements. However, the swallowing problem could be caused by reflux. Acid could be backing up in his throat, causing him to clear it.

Answer 4

You never know what a kid has swallowed. Has the doc checked to see if there are any foreign objects stuck in his throat? When I was a kid I used to get fishbones stuck in my throat. My mom made me swallow a small wad of rice to clear out the blockage....it worked.

Answer 5

Of course my dad is older, but he had this same kinda problem. He's had to have surgery twice. The doctor told him that the hole in his throat had shrunk to about the diameter of a single spaghetti noodle. They put in a "expander" and he hasn't had a problem since. This surgery, on the downside, has to be repeated every couple of years to stay effective.

Answer 6

oh i am so sorry to hear that maybe he is not chewing his food good make sure his is chewing it up good good luck

Answer 7

take him to the ER now b/c he could have an allergic reaction did he eat anything different

Answer 8

there is a possibilty that it is acid reflux. my daughter has it and that happens to her as well. i wish you the best of luck!