Fear of Fish Bones
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
Eugene, Oregon
July 22, 2016 10:27am CST
Every time we have fish for dinner, I can't help but think of my youngest sister (now deceased). She was fifteen years older than I and could not understand how I could eat fish. "Aren't you afraid you'll get a bone stuck in your throat?" She lived in fear of swallowing a fish bone all her life and so, ate only canned tuna and salmon.
But it went deeper than that. Taking a pill was a major operation for her. She would hold a glass of water, put the pill in her mouth and sort of move it around, waiting for the very last moment, when it was perfectly aligned, to take a drink and swallow the pill. It was painful to watch this ordeal, wondering if she would indeed choke somehow on a tiny pill.
I can’t imagine what had happened to Clarice that would have caused this paranoid fear of fish bones and pills. She had a less than ideal life, too much time as a bread winner for too many people. I hope that she rests in peace.
Did you ever know anyone so fearful of eating fish or taking pills?
18 people like this
17 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
12 Aug 16
does he get throat s pasms that hap pens to me at times and taking sips of water until
the throat muscles loosen will aid in getting the pills down,. I take one horribly large metformin pill for blood sugar control and if '
I get a spasm I wait, sip water, then it loosens and I can swallow the big pill. until it loosens even water will just come back in t o m y mouth
.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
12 Aug 16
@Hatley Oh that would be scary. Maybe that explains it.
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
22 Jul 16
The bones don't worry me. I never heard of anyone dying from a bone in the throat.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
22 Jul 16
i know some that would even remove the crumbly bones in canned sardines.
i never had a problem taking medicine, but when i tried taking supplements like glucosamine and fish oil, i can't keep it up because the pills are huge!
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
22 Jul 16
Yes, those pills are pretty big alright. Funny about the sardine bones.
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
22 Jul 16
I took about seven from the last rockfish serving.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16764)
• China
23 Jul 16
To be frank ,this is the first time I hear of taking pills to deal with the fish bones.I guess some people are born with a fear of getting a fish bone stuck in their throats.Fearing being fish bone stuck, my 10 year old granddaughter hasn't had fish so far.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
23 Jul 16
It was odd that my sister feared both the bones and taking medication.
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6407)
•
22 Jul 16
it definitely sounds worse than most people. when i was a kid, i could NOT swallow pills. it was a real ordeal, but it wasn't a fear. i just hated it.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40294)
• Laguna Woods, California
23 Jul 16
I have known people who had difficulty swallowing pills, but never a fear of it. I actually got a fish bone stuck in my throat one time. I ate some crusty sourdough bread and, after a while, it dislodged it. That was about 40 years ago, and it never stopped me from eating fish.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
23 Jul 16
You are, not surprisingly, a sensible person.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
24 Jul 16
@DeborahDiane I grilled some great fresh ling cod tonight and my piece had about 8 large bones, but was delicious.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40294)
• Laguna Woods, California
24 Jul 16
@JamesHxstatic - Thanks! I try to be sensible!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340043)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 Jul 16
I am a bit this way. I try really hard not to get a fish-bone in my mouth. I also have trouble swallowing pills and usually push them into the middle of a mouthful of biscuit. I have nearly trained myself to be able to swallow them with just water but it's very difficult. If I'm ever hospitalised they won't be wanting to bring me half a biscuit with every pill. I'm sorry for your sister. Some people do have difficult lives.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
22 Jul 16
I've known people who have a hard time swallowing pills, but they didn't fear them.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99405)
• Atlanta, Georgia
22 Jul 16
My youngest son had a hard time swallowing a pill when he was growing up, but I think it isn't a problem now. We used to eat little perch that my husband and sons caught, The tiny bones cooked so they didn't have to be taken out, with larger fish we cut the bones out of the fish.
2 people like this
@josie_ (10034)
• Philippines
25 Jul 16
Given that she was fifteen years older than you, it is possible she had a bad choking experience you were not aware of. I'm also wary whenever I eat fish that wasn't de-bone, having had some stuck inside my throat in the past. Now I chew very slowly and make sure there isn't any fish bones before I swallow.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
25 Jul 16
As do I once I detect any evidence of bone.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
12 Aug 16
yes I have known some who are afraid t o eat fish and hate taking pills but they had something similar to what I have at t imes
Im not scare but sometimes the muscles in'my throat seem to spazem and I cannot'
swallow till they loose usually several sips of water swallowed will loosen them so I c an '
swallow a pill Im not afraid of fish bones.
@celticeagle (167024)
• Boise, Idaho
23 Jul 16
No, I haven't. I love fish and learned early how to de-bone. If the fish is done it is easy to bone and then there should be no problem. Swallowing pills can be a problem. I put some water in my moth first, then the pills and more water. Seems to work well for me.
@sallycherry (35)
• Akqi, China
23 Jul 16
My throat was ever plugged by fish bone.I drank much water and ate everything I could to get rid of it. But it's in vain..The bone stood firmly. Finally the doctor pull the bone from throat with tweezers which scared me. After that I don't eat fish with small bones any more.
