What are swallowing difficulties and what are their types:
Swallowing difficulties
Any problem related to the process of eating, chewing and swallowing food even reaching the stomach. The location of the defect or the injury that caused it and according to the cause, whether it was muscular or nervous.
What are the causes of swallowing difficulties:
There are many diseases that are usually accompanied by difficulties Swallowing when it causes weakness or destruction of muscles or nerves that are used in the process of chewing or swallowing, including the following:
- Brain and nerve diseases
- muscular dystrophy disease
- sensory problems
- Muscle and nerve diseases
- clots
- Cleft lip and open palate
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What are the symptoms of swallowing difficulties:
When you notice any of the following symptoms on the patient, please contact the speech-language pathologist to examine the patient, assess his condition and present him to an integrated medical team for diagnosis and development of an appropriate treatment plan:
- Swallowing difficulties in children appear through difficulty in suctioning, swallowing, or breathing, whether during breastfeeding, formula feeding, or drinking from a cup
- Suffocation occurs frequently during or after eating as a result of obstruction of the airway by cutting food, which leads to swallowing difficulties
- Vomiting, especially within the first two hours of eating.
- The length of time you eat (more than 30 minutes per meal).
- Difficulty in chewing or removing food from the mouth or nose while eating.
Protrusion of the veins in the neck and face (congestion) during or after eating. - A history of pneumonia (pneumonia), especially if it recurs as a result of which there are difficulties in swallowing
- The patient feels that there are pieces of food stuck in his throat (the child puts his hand on his neck constantly).
Eating limited amounts of food and drink, which leads to significant weight loss and dehydration, especially in children and the elderly. - The patient refuses the types of food he has previously eaten (aversion to food).
Having some food or drink in the breathing tube (tracheotomy tube) during and after eating.
Treatment of swallowing difficulties and strategies to deal with them:
Provide a healthy environment during the meal.
- Follow the general rules of sound and the patient's conditions followed globally while eating.
Speech sessions to train the patient and increase the sensory and motor awareness of the organs of chewing and swallowing.
Provide a healthy environment during the meal. Such as
Place: It must be suitable so that the patient feels safe and avoids any inconvenience while eating.
Time: the patient spends about half an hour eating one meal, do not stress the patient to eat quickly.
Organizing meals at specific times and not allowing them to penetrate. If the patient refuses food, we wait until the next meal.