Inhaled a slice of carrot

[DrakeLucian]

This is not a joke in any way.  I was eating some steamed vegetables and accidentally inhaled a slice of carrot.  I am curious as to the damage this could cause my lung, whichever one the slice went into.  I am scared that the carrot will cause some kind of problem.  My lungs are not meant to digest food.  Will the carrot rot in my lung?  I am sorry if you feel like I am wasting your time, but, everytime I tried to google inhaling a slice of carrot it would bring up cake recipes and I don't have a regular doctor.  Thank you very much for your time.

[ayl291]

It really depends.  Technically marchrophages can break it up.  But it could turn into pnuemonia if the piece is too large.  Pneumonia could theoretically cause fibrosis.  Depending on the size if I were you I would get a chest x-ray, if it's anything large enough to cause issues, it will be visible.  If not since it's an organic substance it should be broken down just fine.

[vesna007]

Thank you for your answer. You comment made me rest. I was so worried since I inhaled also tiny peace of carrot. (Thanx to DrakeLucian for the question)

[Tunk57]

Same here! I inhaled a mushroom bit and it’s just SO itchy & scratchy. I have strong lungs tho so they’ll win the battle I think. Plus - that’s a good point - what she said about how much crap we inhale in our daily lives.
I had to have a bronchioscopy a few weeks ago though because I aspirated a piece of plastic. That thing almost killed me though as it melted - and blocked more O2, I could barely catch my breath.
However - the mushroom I’m not worried about much. Plus - I also read that what our macrophages can’t eat - the bacteria from the air will land on and eat up quickly by comparison. Apparently the macrophages aren’t too plentiful

[ed34]

lol, I'm sorry for giggling. If a substance manages to get passed your major airways without causing a blockage, it will soon be removed by the body. You have a natural layer of mucus continuously moving over the surface of your lungs, removing dust etc. Larger problems are broken down by white blood cells that mutate into large macrophages. These literally gobble up rubbish and then die to be removed by the mucus. So, your carrot will be long gone. If you imagine how much debris we inhale in our lives, dust, smoke and other substances, we would all need our lungs sucked out at least once a week.