What exactly happens when someone swallows their tounge?

Question

I find it difficult to picture, I mean it's already down your throat. does it slide backwards or does it curl and you swallow it from the tip or what? It just hapened to the Austria goalkeeper that's why I'm thinking of it.

Answer 1

what happens is the tongue flops back in the mouth and covers the entrance to the trachea. this prevents air from entering the lungs

Answer 2

That happened to my brother-in-law during a seizure. The tongue falls backwards into the throat and somehow closes off the airway--I don't think it's actually swallowed as in down into the esophagus but rather just fallen back across the back of the throat blocking the windpipe.

You may get a better answer from a medical expert, but that's the way I understand it.

Answer 3

this is an old wives tale . it is physically impossible to swallow your tongue. what they are referring to is when someone is unconscious the relaxed tongue and throat , the tongue falls back over the airway and closes off the airway. this is why you do a chin lift with c.p.r.