How To Get A Hair Out Of Your Throat (Safe & Simple Ways)

Once hair is trapped in the throat, it leads to irritation and abrasion due to swallowing a hard meal bolus. Consequently, the injured throat lining gives an unpleasant hairy feeling and we certainly don’t like it at all.

Then “How to get a hair out of your throat?”. Here are some simple actions to take if you have trapped hair in your throat. 

Things You Need Before Getting Hair Out Of Your Throat

Because the throat is so sensitive, even the tiniest irritation in the region can cause severe discomfort. Many individuals complain of getting hair trapped in their throats. The cause might be hair lodged in the throat or simple throat discomfort caused by a frequent upper respiratory tract illness. 

So, if you are experiencing irritation or believe that hair has been lodged in your throat, you can use one of many home treatments to release the strand. To do so, here are some items you need to prepare: 

• Tweezers/ Cotton buds
• 70% Ethanol 
• A mirror
• A cup of water
• Food (cake, rice, banana…)

4 Methods To Get A Hair Out Of Your Throat

Drink water to swallow the hair

If you feel you have hairs trapped in your throat, please drink a lot of water to swallow them. 

Since hair is composed of keratin (just like nails), a thick protein, your body will not be able to digest it. So eventually, the hair will pass through your digestive tract like food and be excreted by your body.

You should drink a big sip and try to do it a little fast to work more effectively. 

Try to swallow with food

You can get the hair out of your throat by swallowing a certain quantity of food. In case of getting choke, you’d better choose soft or mild food.

Take a few nibbles of banana or soft bread/cake, for example. Note that: 

• Only swallow a bite that fits comfortably in your mouth (or you might choke yourself).
• Swallow slowly; there is no need to hurry.

As mentioned earlier, if you manage to swallow it, the hair will pass through your digestive tract with the meal.

Take it out using tweezers or cotton buds

If the hair appears to be lengthy, check whether you can pull it out of your throat with your clean fingers, or a much better (and cleaner) way is to use clean tweezers and cotton buds. Here are some steps you should follow:

• Sterilize the tweezers/ cotton buds with 70% ethanol by simply dipping them into the ethanol within 3-4 minutes.
• Use a mirror to help you look into your throat.
• Carefully take it out with the tweezers/ cotton buds and avoid poking your throat. 

Ask for professional help

Find yourself an ENT specialist. Also, consult an ear, nose, and throat expert if you can’t get the hair out of your throat and the sensation bothers you. 

If you have any additional sore throat symptoms, such as uncomfortable swallowing or pus on your tonsils, you should have a complete examination. 

The specialist may require tests or X-rays. Make sure you provide a thorough medical history and explain all of your symptoms.

Cautions You Need To Know If You Swallow Hair 

Since our bodies can’t break down hair, it could result in a severe problem when people consume excessive amounts of hair over a long time; they risk developing cancer. 

This causes large, firm hairballs called trichobezoars to grow in the stomach, obstructing normal body functioning. Weight loss is very prevalent in these situations.

Trichophagia, or the inability to stop eating one’s hair, causes vomiting, stomach discomfort, and other serious health problems. 

Another disease known as Rapunzel Syndrome occurs when the hairball’s tail reaches down into the small intestine and causes an obstruction. After that, the hairball must be surgically removed before a sluggish recovery may begin.

Feeling Of Hair Stuck In Throat Might Be Throat Tickles

Sometimes, if you keep feeling like hair stuck in your throat, but when you look into your throat, there’s nothing. You might have a throat tickle.

This is an unpleasant sensation that occurs in the throat and is commonly caused by inflammation of the throat, esophagus, or trachea mucous membranes.

A throat tickling can result from a variety of factors. Here are some of them:

External factors:

You might get a tickling in your throat as a result of something that happens outside of your body. These elements could include chilly, dry air pollution from traffic, smoke, or chemicals first and or secondhand cigarette smoke.

Try to avoid contact with these external variables to prevent yourself from tickling.

Health problems:

A tickling sensation in your throat could indicate one of these problems:  

• Pharyngitis: This could be caused by a virus or bacteria that enter your body, such as a cold or a combination of viruses. 

• Laryngitis: People usually lose their voices as a symptom of laryngitis, especially when their vocal chords have been stressed by yelling, raising their voice in a loud atmosphere, or talking for long periods. The cause of laryngitis can be viral or bacterial infections also.

• Common cold: Postnasal drip, which causes mucus to trickle down the back of your throat, is a cold symptom that can produce a throat tickle and usually lasts little more than seven to ten days. However, a persistent or severe cold could indicate the presence of another illness, such as influenza or sinusitis.

• Allergies: An itchy throat is a typical symptom of allergic rhinitis and food allergies. But if you have a severe allergic response that causes your throat to close or you lose consciousness, see a doctor right once. 

• Sinusitis: If you have a throat tickle caused by postnasal drip and you also have: nasal congestion, discomfort, and pressure in the face, these are all symptoms of a chronic cough. When a typical cold lasts more than a week, you may consider sinusitis.

• Acid reflux: This happens when the acid in your stomach backs up into your esophagus, generating a tickling sensation. Overeating, eating specific meals, or lying down too soon after consuming can contribute to this condition. 

• Cancer: If you drink alcohol and smoke or have the human papillomavirus, you may be more prone to throat cancer. This illness’s other signs and symptoms include changes in voice tumors around your throat due to weight loss. 

What Should You Do If You Have A Throat Tickle?

If you suspect that your throat tickle is a symptom of a non-serious health condition or an external trigger, you can try treatments at home. With proper care, a throat tickling will usually go away on its own. 

You should, nevertheless, see your doctor for a medical diagnosis and treatment plan on occasion. 

In the meantime, try the following to relieve a tickle in the throat:

• Rinse your mouth with salt water. Gargle with 8 ounces of water containing no more than 1/2 teaspoon of salt. After you’ve gargled for a few seconds, spit it out.
• Take a throat lozenge and suck it. Lozenges and even hard candies can stimulate saliva production, keeping your throat moist and relieving the tickle.
• Use an over-the-counter (OTC) drug. You could try an over-the-counter pain reliever or a throat spray.
• Get some extra rest. If you believe the tickle is the result of your body fighting off a virus, don’t push yourself too hard. This includes taking it easy during the day and getting more sleep at night.
• Clear liquids should be consumed. Try water or warm beverages such as herbal tea. Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated drinks. These substances can dehydrate you and dry out your throat.

FAQs

Does hair stay in your stomach forever?

Actually, no. Although our bodies can’t digest hair, it can still soon be excreted with undigested food.

This is also why it is rumored to stay in your stomach forever, but it will never happen unless you eat a huge amount of it. 

Can hair get in your lungs?

It’s scarce that human hair gets into your lungs through any circumstances, but animals’ or pets’ might. However, your lungs are extraordinarily adept at keeping things other than the air out, even something as little as a hair.

In addition, the hair would be unlikely to reach the lungs due to the mucus that covers all the tubes and the cilia that sweep everything away from the organ.

Even if it did, you’d most likely cough it up sooner or later.

If there is a large enough amount of hair, it may create further issues, ranging from limiting gaseous exchange if the hairs are distributed about to blocking a whole section of the lung if there is a large mass of hair.

Conclusion

After finishing this post, you should have known the simple ways to get the hair out of your throat.

I hope you find that information valuable and applicable. If you want to pull a hair out, follow what we outlined above.

If it doesn’t work, or you don’t see anything, or the feelings last longer than they typically would, you should immediately see a doctor. Stay safe!