Can you get pneumonia from water accidently going down the wrong pipe?

Question

I accidently swallowed a small amount of water down the wrong pipe about 3 hours ago, and my chest has been hurting a little ever since, especially when I inhale. I heard a long time ago that water in the lungs can cause pneumonia. Do you think that's whats wrong with me?

Answer 1

Yes, but chances are it will clear itself on its own. My son has swallowing disorders, and he inhales liquids. Recently, he was kept overnight at the hospital because they saw some haziness in his lungs from inhaling liquid and choking/coughing, and he was observed to see it would clear. If it stayed too long, he would develop pneumonia. Thankfully, it cleared.
I inhale water a lot too. Usually it clears, if it's only a small amount.

Answer 2

Water In Lungs Pneumonia

Answer 3

Coughing is the body's natural reaction to solving the "wrong pipe" dilemma. It is in fact going down the "wrong pipe." The trachea to be specific. That's a no-go for food/liquid. Whenever you cough, it's because your body senses something is in the airways that shouldn't be there (Be it smoke, solids or liquids). Coughing will sometimes not be able to expel the matter, which then will cause choking or at the very least restricted airways (Medical emergency). The worst case scenario of pulmonary aspiration (The medical term for "wrong pipe") besides total asphyxiation (Unable to breathe) is pneumonia (A *serious* immune response in the lungs) but almost always, you cough and it gets back into the esophagus. A strong cough is actually surprising powerful, powerful enough to even cause an inguinal herniation (Part of the small intestines break through the muscle wall between your abdomen and groin). Simple solution: Concentrate when you eat/drink, especially when you drink. There's a mental aspect to eating/drinking, your mind needs to be there else something, even something small and trivial will fail and cause it to deviate into the trachea. Many, many muscles are involved when eating/drinking and all must respond and work properly.

Answer 4

Inhaling Water

Answer 5

No, I doubt you have pneumonia. Yes you can get pneumonia from inhaling liquid or foreign debris. It’s called aspiration pneumonia however, it doesn't sound like you inhaled enough water to cause it. Most people who get aspiration pneumonia from water have inhaled creek or pond water from a near drowning. That water has bacteria in it. Here is some more information on aspiration pneumonia.

Aspiration (as-pi-RAY-shun) pneumonia (noo-MOH-nyah) happens when a liquid or an object is inhaled into the lungs. A common cause of aspiration pneumonia is inhaling (aspirating) acid or vomit from the stomach. Having food, drink, or saliva (spit) from your mouth go into your lungs can also cause aspiration pneumonia. When these things go into the lungs, it can damage (hurt) the lungs, or cause a blockage. This damage or blockage may cause swelling and fluid in the lungs. It can also cause an infection (in-FECK-shun) in the lungs, such as bacterial (bak-TEE-ree-al) pneumonia.

You may be more likely to get pneumonia if you have a lung disease such as asthma or emphysema (em-fi-SEE-mah). You are more likely to get pneumonia and other lung infections if you smoke. Having a long-term medical condition (such as heart failure) may also increase your risk of getting pneumonia. If you have to stay in bed for a long time, such as after an injury or surgery, you have a greater chance of getting pneumonia. You may be more likely to get pneumonia if you have a long-term drinking problem (alcoholism), or if you have a poor diet.

Sometimes it may take a few days for symptoms of aspiration pneumonia to begin. The signs and symptoms of aspiration pneumonia can get worse very quickly. The signs and symptoms that you have may depend on what you inhaled into your lungs, and how much was inhaled. Common signs and symptoms may include one or more of the following:

Frequent coughing. Your cough may bring up bad-smelling mucus from your lungs. This phlegm (flem) may have pus or streaks of blood in it. You may also cough up frothy (bubbly) fluid from your lungs.

Shortness of breath or noisy breathing. Your heartbeat or breathing (while resting) may seem much faster than normal.

Fever or chills. You may sweat a lot.

Chest pain when you cough or take a deep breath.

Trouble swallowing, or you feel like something is stuck in your throat.

Feeling dizzy, faint, or having new trouble thinking (confusion). You may feel upset or anxious.

Feeling like you cannot get enough air. Your skin, lips, or fingernails may turn dusky or blue.

If you have aspiration pneumonia, you may need to stay in the hospital to get better. You may need oxygen and special medicines to help your lungs. You may need medicine to help reduce the acid in your stomach or to help food move through your stomach faster. You may need antibiotics (an-ti-bi-AH-tiks) to prevent or treat an infection caused by bacteria (bak-TEE-ree-ah). You may need a machine to help you breathe. If you inhaled something solid, you may need a bronchoscopy (brong-KOS-ke-pee) to remove it. This procedure uses a small, flexible scope that is passed through your mouth and into your lungs. You may need special caregivers to help decrease your chance of inhaling something into your lungs again. A speech and language pathologist (pah-THOL-oh-jist) or an occupational (ok-u-PAY-shun-al) therapist may help find and treat swallowing problems. A dietitian (deye-e-TISH-an) can help you plan easy-to-swallow meals to decrease your risk of choking.

Answer 6

you dont really get pneumonia in that short of a period of time , and pneumonia is like a relly bad cold/flu that how you feel when you have it . you dont get it from getting water in your windpipe you get it from being in the damp and cold for an extended period of time. If your that worried about it or your chest is hurting that much go to a doctor or hospital.
Your chest just hurts because usually air goes into your wind pipe and not water...its jsut figuring out what to do with it.

Answer 7

What a great question