Signs And Curative Measures Of Swallowing Disorders

By Nora Jennings


Swallowing is an automatic response that happens most often in a day to day lives. Most people take it for granted just as they do breathing or walking. The truth is that the difficulty in swallowing can cause huge problems in someones life. These problems are termed as dysphagia and they can manifest in various ways. There are symptoms that one looks for when they need to know if they have swallowing disorders.

Coughing is a major sign to look out for this disorder as it should not happen when eating or right after you swallow the food. It could get so bad that one may not be able to finish their food or even drink. At such a point then you know you have the disorder, because right after you stop eating or drinking, it also stops. It could lead to blockage of the food or wind pipe by the food or drink which is very dangerous.

Another common sign is experienced by other patients. They will feel the need to over chew even when the food should be swallowed. They do this because they have a reflex action preventing them from choking. Some others also try to swallow at a slower pace so that the food does not choke them. This problem could be tied in with psychological factors that should be dealt with too.

Children are the most commonly affected by the problem. They refuse to swallow the food altogether, and it ends up remaining in the mouth for a very long time or dripping out through the corners of their mouths. Chest blockages after meals is related to the problem but not always. Seek medical attention whenever you notice some of these problems. However, some of the conditions are minor, and some people have managed to live with them.

People with these problems will usually lose weight at an alarming rate. This is common in children since they end up not talking in anything. Adults too may have these problems especially if there is pain during swallowing. This is common to people who have mouth and throat sores since they experience a lot of pain when taking in the food.

These problems are serious because they cause a high risk of aspiration. This is where food enters the air pipe and goes to the lungs. This is a potentially fatal problem but may cause pneumonia and chronic lung diseases. This is why one should take serious steps to take care of the problem whether it is psychological or physical.

In case of sores, one can take some steps to relieve the pain. Food eaten can be mashed to make it easier to swallow. It can also be made bland with minimum or no spices to reduce the acidity. This will reduce the irritation of the throat when one tries to swallow food. Such problems can cause one to have embarrassments when it comes to eating in public.

One can feel isolated in social gatherings if they are unable to swallow food. This is why such a problem should be addressed seriously. There are different ways of doing this. This includes changing the texture of the foods by mashing and also performing specific exercises.




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