“Once you’re convinced that there isn’t a significant pathology that’s causing the sensation, then reassurance is probably one of the best treatments you can offer your patients,” said Dr. Pitman. “For many, that’s what they’re looking for—the globus doesn’t really bother them, but the anxiety that they might have a serious health problem does.”
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February 2014Regardless of the treatment path, it’s important to remember that globus itself is a symptom. “So long as you have performed evaluations to the point where you believe that nothing detrimental to the patient’s health is going on, then you can monitor it without treatment,” said Dr. Pitman. “Each patient is different.”
Amy Eckner is a freelance writer based in Calif.
Globus: A Long History
Circa 486 BCA: Hippocrates first noted the symptoms of globus pharyngeus.
1707: John Purcell was the first to describe the condition accurately; he believed that globus resulted from pressure on the thyroid cartilage due to contraction of the strap muscles of the neck. He also coined the term “globus hystericus,” which he described as a “treatise of vapours or hysteric fits.”
1868: KG Malcomson creates the more accurate term “globus pharyngeus” after noting that most patients experiencing globus were neither hysterical nor female. (“Globus hystericus vel pharyngis [a recommaissance of proximal vagal modalities]”).