Why Do We Choke On Our Spit?

When's the last time you choked on your own spit? Probably pretty recently, right? As it turns out, the reason we are so prone to coughing fits over nothing has a lot more to do with human evolution than you might think, and the features in our throats that let us embarrass ourselves during a big speech also set us apart from all the other apes out there!

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[kngofbng]

A few months ago, I had a major spit choke event sitting in the back of a full bus and started coughing *hard* to the point tears ran down my face. I had to explain to people staring in disgust that I had simply choked on my own saliva and it was not COVID.

[JOHNCHENSJCA]

After my neck surgery, I’ve been having difficulty swallowing. I now appreciate how easily it can be messed up.

[AlatheD]

I've been telling people for years that I'm certain I'll die by "choking on my on spit". It's not just like a single cough or two, I choke a fair bit when it happens and my breathing pattern and speech is uncomfortable for several minutes after the choking stops.

[Mallory-Malkovich]

Sure, let's have the breathing tube and the swallowing tube share the same opening. What could go wrong?
Intelligent design indeed.

[kikistrikesagain]

Oh my god I am a speech therapist in a nursing home, and a big part of my job is helping folks with swallowing problems. This is honestly the best video I’ve ever found explaining and showing the swallowing mechanism. Can’t wait to show this to patients and their families!

[ChaoticOrcPaladin]

If this happens to you just stay calm and remember that you can still breathe through your nose.
I've nearly passed out from this stupid condition. Saw something on reddit about the nose and bam, it works. Started to freak out, told myself to chill and breathe through my nose and voila! I survived and was able to recover from choking in less than a minute. Usually takes me nearly 10 minutes of wheezing and struggling.

[BaronVonSTFU]

When I was in elementary school, my friend and I had the bright idea to hold our spit in our mouths for the whole busride home. Our goal was to see how many divots we could fill on a manhole cover. When I was about one stop away from getting off the bus, while my mouth felt absolutely full of spit, I choked on it. I choked so violently . Then the disgust set in. I almost started to vomit. The choking turned into dry heaving. So yes, to this day spit has a tendency to gross me out. It was brutal when my kid was teething.

[Redheadmafia]

Fun fact! My soft pallet is slightly too short to completely block off my nasal cavity so sometimes food gets stuck in my nose only to be shot out at high velocity later 😊

[jamesburgessk]

I didn't realize just how much B Roll there was about people choking on their own spit

[ethan-loves]

Savannah is an excellent presenter! Glad to have them on this channel nowadays

[alguemalguem]

Can you make a video on why some people (myself included) get their eyelashes in their eyes so often? I can't go a week without having to stare myself at the mirror in weird angles to try getting them off my eye ball. Last time I went to an ophthalmologist, I was asked if I injured my eye. The only thing to get in my eye in years are the damn lashes.

[davetoms]

My mouth created so much saliva during this video. Probably swallowed more in the last 5 minutes than the last hour lol The body is so fascinating!

[capnstewy]

Never take swallowing without choking for granted. With ecolasia (probably spelling it wrong) I occasionally have to throw up in restaurants. My wife loves it.

[MePeterNicholls]

I always recall a professor telling me “evolution uses whatever’s already there” and ever flaw brings this to mind.

[lochie]

Me: **repeatedly swallowing for no reason throughout the video**

[bekaz]

My mom literally just choked on her spit right before I saw the upload. Perfect timing.

[dethengine]

Semi-interesting side note; the ball of chewed up food your mouth and tongue make just before you swallow has a name! It's called a bolus.

[janetgm]

I have dealt with this problem so many times and for so many years I have often said my epitaph will read "died on spit!"

[Sxcheschka]

I've always wondered this, and thank you for your videos!

[guinntessence]

Thank you! I have always been curious about this quirk. Recovering after the cough is difficult when you've then lost your voice for a bit, too, lol. Bodies!