Question: when you put water in the back of your throat why doesnt the water go down

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  1. Thats an important question because it means thinking about whats actually happening with the muscles in the back of your mouth. It can be complicated to think about but luckily for us we don’t need to be a scientist to learn how to use them.

    Two major jobs for your throat to deal with is swallowing food and drink and also breathing. Of course, these cant happen at the same time otherwise you might choke. When you have food or water in your mouth you have to make the decision to swallow it or spit it out. Once you make the decision to swallow, there starts a very complicated system of muscle movements controlled automatically by your brain that you dont have to think about.

    If you put water in your mouth and tilt your head back, chances are nothing will happen unless you want it to. It’s difficult to do but you can convince the muscles in your throat to relax and open which isn’t always a good thing. Have you ever accidentally had water go into your windpipe? I can say its a horrible feeling from experience. Have good trust in your reflex muscles, they’re there being controlled by your brain so you dont have to worry. 🙂