Many patients have such a confusion: foreign body feeling appears in the throat for no reason, such as sticking in the throat, sometimes accompanied by itching and dry throat, and they always feel that there is mucous phlegm or foreign body blocking the throat, and they cannot cough it out even after swallowing hard. Most of the patients would ask: Is this the legendary precursor of esophageal cancer? First of all, it should be affirmed that it is very wise and correct to have such alertness and go to hospital in time. The symptom of foreign body sensation in the pharynx, strictly speaking, cannot predict any disease; it is a common manifestation of many diseases and is a non-specific symptom. The most common clinical disease that causes foreign body sensation in the throat is chronic pharyngitis, probably most patients have similar experience, foreign body sensation in the throat for a long time, ran through all the major hospitals, did a variety of tests, doctors are unanimous, replied that it is chronic pharyngitis, but just can not be treated. If this is the case, then you can rest assured. It cannot be eliminated and will not worsen. This hyperplasia is indeed a cause of foreign body sensation in the pharynx, but not entirely, chronic inflammatory irritation itself can also cause foreign body sensation in the pharynx, so there is no need to dwell on eliminating the hyperplastic follicles. There are many clinics that prefer to remove the follicles from the back wall of the pharynx by microwave or plasma cautery. Indeed, the patient will get temporary symptomatic relief because the nerve endings on the mucosal surface are destroyed, but soon, the pharyngeal mucosa will become congested, dry or even atrophied, and the patient will experience severe dryness and tightness in the pharynx, and by then, it will be really difficult to correct. Therefore, do not rashly accept surgical treatment, if the doctor confirmed that it is chronic pharyngitis, put down the burden of thought, adjust the work and rest and diet habits, quit smoking and alcohol, with drugs and acupuncture point closure and other combined Chinese and Western medicine treatment, generally can achieve satisfactory results. The following is probably the main point that you need to pay attention to. Some foreign body sensation in the pharynx is indeed a bad thing, and as mentioned earlier, it is a non-specific symptom common to many diseases. For example, the specific symptom of esophageal cancer is gradually increasing obstruction of swallowing, and in advanced stage, the patient may not be able to eat any solid food or even drink water with difficulty, and eventually die of failure. However, in the early stage of esophageal cancer, the symptom of foreign body sensation in the throat does not usually appear, and we need to be alert to an equally dangerous malignant tumor, hypopharyngeal cancer. First of all, it should be popularized that “pharynx” and “larynx” are two completely different but closely related parts in terms of anatomy, and people usually confuse pharynx with larynx. In medicine, the pharynx is further divided into the nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx (also called hypopharynx). The nasopharynx should be relatively familiar because a popular disease called “nasopharyngeal cancer” occurs in the nasopharynx. The oropharynx is also familiar to everyone, as it is visible when you open your mouth, and structures such as the tonsils and the root of the tongue are found in it. However, not many people know about the hypopharynx, which is very deep in the area around the larynx and continues with the entrance of the esophagus, and is prone to malignant tumors. In view of the special anatomical structure of hypopharynx and its close relationship with larynx and esophagus, hypopharyngeal cancer often does not have any specific symptoms in the early stage, many patients only have foreign body sensation in the pharynx, and some have slight sore throat. For hypopharyngeal cancer, which is not easy to be detected, has a wide range of hazards and is highly malignant, early detection and treatment is the only rule. For hypopharyngeal cancer, it is more important to undergo surgery as soon as possible to complete surgical tumor reduction, and then supplemented with radiotherapy to destroy cancer cells that are not visible to the naked eye and stop metastasis in blood and lymphatic tracts. As for TCM, from our clinical observation over the years, it does have certain therapeutic effect, which is helpful to enhance physical fitness, improve patients’ quality of life, and prevent recurrence and metastasis. However, it is unrealistic to expect to cure malignant tumors by simply using TCM. Many patients, after knowing their condition, will have negative emotions, thinking that it is cancer anyway and it may not be cured even if they undergo surgery. The other thing is that because of the special nature of throat surgery, when the tumor develops to an advanced stage and invades widely, the surgery is more traumatic, and in order to ensure normal breathing and swallowing function, it must be surgically rerouted, etc., which patients cannot accept. Therefore, as always, if you hope to cure the tumor and keep a good quality of life at the same time, you must detect and treat it early, the cost is small but the benefit is great! Some patients have been reluctant to receive formal treatment, taking traditional Chinese medicine according to their own will or just let it happen, resulting in rapid deterioration of their condition until they have difficulty in breathing, cannot eat, or even severe pain, and then they ask for surgery, regretting too late, and the doctor can’t help. In short, if you have a foreign body feeling in the throat, and it is not cured for a long time, especially if you have a long term habit of smoking and drinking, please consult a doctor in time, the doctor’s examination will help you discover the hidden disease as early as possible, and, please respect the doctor’s sincere professional advice, do not give up lightly or disdain, after all, life is only once!