Simply put, dysphagia is a challenge in swallowing. It indicates that there is a problem with the esophagus or the throat. Even though this issue can affect anyone, it usually gets noted in people with an issue with the nervous system and the brain.
Several issues can avert the esophagus and throat from working accurately today. And a few of these issues are very subtle or minor. On the other hand, a few other cases are severe. People who have a problem in swallowing twice don’t have a medical issue. However, if they face the problem in a daily basis, chances are that they need treatment. To know more about it, you can check out Cleveland Feeding & Swallowing Center.
The symptoms of dysphagia
Dysphagia can be severe or mild, and it can come and go as well. Over time, it can get worse as well. Some of the acute symptoms include the following:
- Facing issues in passing liquids or food down the throat.
- Cough, choke, and gag when you swallow.
- Liquids or food come back to your mouth, throat, and nose once you have swallowed.
- Facing pain as you swallow.
- Facing pressure or pain in the chest or witnessing heartburn.
- Loose ample weight as you aren’t getting ample liquid or food.
How to treat dysphagia?
Ideally, a speech therapist comes to the rescue here. They will speak with the doctor for assessing all that is causing the issue and come up with a customized treatment. The treatment comprises of:
- Dilation– Placing the device down the esophagus to expand carefully any slim areas of the esophagus. For this, you need the treatment done for more than once.
- Surgery– In case there is anything that blocks the esophagus, it is essential to remove the same through surgery. The surgery is sometimes used for people with an issue that impacts their lower esophageal muscles.
- Endoscopy– Here, the doctor uses the thin, long scope to remove the object that remains stuck in the esophagus.
- Medicines –Do you have dysphagia associated with GERD? In that case, the doctor will provide medicines that will ensure that the stomach acid doesn’t move into the esophagus. The antibiotic medication gets used for treating infections in the esophagus.
Finally, the speech therapist offers certain treatments and exercises to treat dysphagia. It comprises exercises that help the swallowing muscle train other muscles to work in cooperation so that you can swallow better. They also suggest compensation strategies, that you need to learn to position your body correctly and place the food in the mouth for better swallowing. The therapist can also ask you to consume certain liquids and food to be more easily when you swallow. Finally, there might be a few rare cases in which a person with a swallowing problem might require a feeding tube as they aren’t able to have sufficient liquids and food. These are a few ways to manage swallowing problems through medical treatment and speech therapy.
