While most individuals only need to reach for a drink to wash away the lingering effects of eating very spicy foods, one woman in China had to go to the hospital and make lifestyle changes after her meal was apparently a lot hotter than she could handle.
According to a video posted to Weibo by Shandong Business Daily on Dec. 30, a Shanghai woman ended up with four broken ribs after her consumption of a spicy dish precipitated a severe coughing fit.
The woman, surnamed Huang, reportedly heard a loud cracking sound from her chest during the episode.
Believing that nothing was wrong, Huang went on normally until a few days later when she decided to seek medical attention at a hospital after experiencing difficulty breathing, talking and walking.
Huang initially believed she had a stroke, but a CT scan showed she had four broken ribs.
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After a week of her chest being wrapped in bandages, per the hospital’s orders, Huang returned for a follow-up exam with the thoracic surgeon who had treated her.
It was Huang’s weak musculature, unhealthily low body weight and thin upper torso that led to the fractures, the expert told her. Huang is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 126 pounds.
Huang has vowed to increase her muscle mass and weight, as her doctor recommended, to avoid more broken bones in the future.
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