Hello, dear reader, and welcome to another episode of The Internet Ruins Something You Love.
In today’s episode, we’re looking to cause our readers great emotional pain by ruining one of their favourite things to eat:
Hotpot meals.
Ah, hotpot. There’s nothing like cooking your own food in a steaming pot of soup before searing your mouth and tongue with its hot and tasty ingredients.
Reader: Exactly. And there’s a nice balance of healthy vegetables and lean meat. So what’s wrong with hotpots?
Well, to be concise, its hotness.
Woman Experiences Pain In The Throat & Coughed Up Blood After Hotpot Dinner
During Christmas last year, one woman in Hangzhou, China decided to have a hotpot dinner with her friends.
What better way to celebrate the birth of a new year, right?
But right after she finished her meal, she experienced some pain in her throat and chest, and felt like something was stuck in her throat when she swallowed.
The woman, Zhang, thought she had accidentally swallowed bone pieces or burnt food crusts, so she didn’t think anything of it.
But when she woke up the next morning, Zhang still had that pain in her throat and it even hurt to swallow her saliva.
To her shock, she ended up coughing up blood, which immediately prompted her to visit a doctor.
Huge ulceration
According to World of Buzz, the doctor performed a gastroscopy on Zhang to find the cause of her pain and discovered that Zhang had a huge ulceration 22cm down her oesophagus.
The doctor diagnosed Zhang with an oesophageal ulcer, chronic non-atrophic gastritis, and bile reflux.
Thankfully, Zhang is recovering from her condition after she was given treatment.
Hot food can damage oesophagus
Zhang’s doctor warned that “eating food that’s too hot” or “eating too quickly” will cause damage to the oesophagus, stomach, and the rest of the digestive system.
And, she added, if you eat extremely hot food over a long period of time, it could even lead to oesophageal cancer.
Yes, I’m afraid this is true.
According to The International Agency For Research On Cancer (IARC), drinking hot drinks “over 65 degrees Celsius” can increase your risk of oesophageal cancer.
Its director Dr Christopher Wild said that this applies to every hot drink from tap water to tea.
So, if you love your hotpot and steaming morning coffee, it’d be a good idea to let them cool for a bit before consumption.
Your mouths might be sad but your throats will thank you later.
