Signs of Dysphagia: Understanding Swallowing Difficulties
Dysphagia is a physical condition that leads to trouble swallowing and moving food from mouth to stomach. For some patients, it’s a minor inconvenience, and for others, it causes severe pain and involuntary food expulsion. Several factors affect the condition’s severity, including patient age and pre-existing conditions. Read on to learn about the top signs of dysphagia.
Trouble Swallowing
When a person has dysphagia, it’s difficult for them to swallow foods and liquids, and challenges come in varying degrees. While some patients can swallow liquids easily, others find it hard to swallow pills and food—or anything else. Dysphagia can affect anyone, at any age, but it’s more common in stroke victims and those with gastrointestinal conditions. In these YouTube videos from SimplyThick, patients and their families can learn how thickeners help ease the effects of dysphagia.
Drooling
People with dysphagia cannot clear their mouths by swallowing, and they often notice drooling and excess saliva production. While most instances of drooling can be treated at home, others require medical intervention.
Pain When Swallowing
Another warning sign of dysphagia is a disorder called odynophagia, which refers to painful swallowing. For most people, the discomfort is confined to the throat, but some feel it around their mouths.
The pain of odynophagia may be described as a burning sensation or a throbbing ache, but it can be more serious in some cases. Odynophagia may move from the area around the mouth to other parts of the throat, and certain food types are more likely to trigger it.
Regurgitation
Frequent food and liquid regurgitation are unmistakable signs of dysphagia. Regurgitation occurs for several reasons, and in most cases, it’s uncontrollable. It’s defined as the expulsion of food from the stomach, and some foods are more problematic than others.
Normally, the muscle between the esophagus and stomach prevents regurgitation, but foods that are acidic or bitter may cause a stronger and swifter response. In most instances, regurgitation occurs because of conditions affecting the stomach or esophagus, but dysphagia can also cause it.
Weight Loss
In severe cases, dysphagia can cause sudden weight loss. Those who have trouble swallowing eat less, and the most serious cases require medical attention. Cutting food into smaller pieces, using liquid thickeners, and choosing tender, easy-to-chew foods may help some patients manage their symptoms.
Significant weight loss has other causes, some of which can be life-threatening. If you have dysphagia and have lost weight rapidly, see a doctor to rule out more serious conditions.
The Risks of Untreated Dysphagia
While it’s easily managed in many cases, dysphagia can lead to serious and even fatal issues when left untreated. The most severe risks include:
*Choking.
*Malnutrition.
*Dehydration.
*Aspiration pneumonia. Stroke survivors are at the highest risk of inhaling food and liquids silently, and foreign material in the lungs can cause pneumonia.
Although liquid thickeners can help with the symptoms of dysphagia, serious cases require medical attention.
The Takeaway
Choking, coughing, and the feeling of something lodged in the throat are all unpleasant, but they’re also signs that medical help is needed. If you regularly struggle to swallow solids and liquids because of a stroke or a different condition, it’s time to schedule a doctor’s appointment. Your physician will check for dysphagia and other problems, and they will also recommend symptom management strategies that can help you eat and drink safely.
