No Gag Reflex: Lack of Pharyngeal Sensitivity Normal or Sign of Medical Condition?
The gag reflex is a normal response of the body to avoid choking. However, individuals have different sensitivity levels when it comes to gag reflexes.
No Gag Reflex
When something hits your tonsils, the back of your tongue, or the roof of your mouth, your throat contracts, causing the gag response, also known as the pharyngeal reflex. This instinctive movement saves us from swallowing potentially dangerous substances and helps prevent choking.
Specific individuals have an extremely sensitive gag reflex, which can be brought on by worry, acid reflux, or postnasal drip. A trip to the dentist, oral sex, or swallowing medicines can also cause problems for people with an overactive gag reflex.
However, it's also not uncommon to lack a gag reflex. A research comprising 140 participants revealed that 37% have no gag reflex.
Patients with a history of tobacco use or smoking may have a higher percentage of this condition. Clinical judgment is advised, nevertheless. In other cases, losing the gag reflex could indicate a more serious illness, like brain death or damage to the cranium.
A collection of indications and symptoms known as bulbar palsy emerge when the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), vagus nerve (CN X), accessory nerve (CN XI), and hypoglossal nerve (CN XII) are injured. Symptoms of bulbar palsy include a lack of gag reflex, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), drooling excessively, and dysarthria (slurred speech), which is most frequently brought on by a brainstem tumor or stroke. Acute intermittent porphyria, degenerative conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, infectious conditions like Guillain-Barré syndrome and Lyme disease, toxic conditions like botulism, and autoimmune conditions like myasthenia gravis are some more causes of bulbar palsy.
The gag reflex was also used to identify dysphagia in the context of an acute stroke. In one study, researchers compared the gag reflex to the bedside swallowing assessment in 242 patients. They discovered that while the lack of a gag response was not sensitive in stroke patients, it was specific for and consistent with the incapacity to swallow as evaluated at the bedside.
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How to Get Rid of Gag Reflexes?
A viral video on TikTok illustrated a step-by-step method to stop gag reflex. The video suggests closing the fingers over your thumb to form a fist. For five seconds, squeeze this fist as hard as you can. Next, apply pressure with the right index finger to the chin for five seconds. Finally, compress the skin of the left thumb and index finger for five seconds using the right hand's index and thumb. Several followed the trick since it went viral, and according to them, it worked.
In one study, the researchers found that applying pressure with their palms caused the gag reflex to revert and enter the patient's mouth. When someone gags on something that isn't stuck in their mouth, the gag point moves back when pressure is applied.
The researchers concluded that applying pressure to specific pressure sites during dental treatments would lessen the likelihood of inducing the mentioned reaction. Additionally, applying pressure to the chin's front and skin between the index finger and thumb delivers the same results.
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