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Swallowing Pain
Hello,
I started experiencing pain in my right shoulder ~5 days ago. Then ~4 days ago, the pain moved to both shoulders. Then ~2 days ago, in the morning, I couldn't swallow food that well. Yesterday, the pain was in my throat on both sides and in the back of my neck. When I would touch the middle of the throat or the area right above breast bone, there was pain. Now, I can only eat soft food. The pain is now in the front left side of my throat where the throat meets the breast bone. When I touch the left side of the throat it seems tobe larger than the right side and there is no more pain in the middle of throat. In order to swallow without pain, I must look straight down with my chin to my chest. If I swallow looking straight ahead, there is pain on the left side of my throat where the throat meets the breast bone. When I swallow and look in the mirror, the right side has a larger object moving than the left side. When I burp, the chest seems to tighten up and it is hard for the burp to come up. The only thing that I did different was rake leaves that were on a forest surface for many years. Is there a possibility I am having an allergic reaction to mold, old grass, etc? Please help. All is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
Answer:
Swallowing Pain
You definitely need to see the doctor about these symptoms. I cannot say what is causing this without the benefit of a physical examination, but there are any number of causes for such symptoms, many of them harmless, but there are some serious ones, too. From your description alone, it does not immediately sound like an allergic reaction. One possible fairly obvious reason might be that you pulled a cervical muscle when raking the leaves; this would seem to explain your symptoms. But there are other possibilities as well, including thyroiditis and other diseases of the neck area, so please see your doctor about this.