Swallowing correctly can save your life – are you doing it right? | Well actually

People often assume that swallowing is automatic and infallible, but I learned that this is not the case.

When my daughter was two months old, she caught RSV and stopped gaining weight. When she tried to eat, she coughed and shuffled, sometimes hiding her back. She quickly received a diagnosis of dysphagia – a swallowing disorder.

“You are lucky that we have caught that early,” said speech therapist (SLP), after looking at a live radiography of my baby swallowing. When she nourished, her respiratory tract did not close completely, causing a little formula in the bad tube. The SLP explained that even a small amount of food or liquid entering the lungs can cause pneumonia.

Fortunately, the treatment was easy. I added thickening powder to its baby formula. Then I gradually reduced the amount of powder, recycling my daughter’s throat mechanisms to swallow properly.

This experience was one of the many reasons why I have become a speech therapist myself. Over the past eight years, I have worked with babies, children and adults with dysphagia. Last year, I experienced dysphagia in adulthood when chronic acid reflux made me eat and drink more slowly.

Here is what you can do to avoid, notice and – if necessary – repair the problems.

How do you switch properly?

There are simple ways to protect the health from swallowing mechanisms. “The” good “way and what seems natural can be a little different for everyone,” said Dr. Laura Dominguez in Dallas, Texas, an Oto-Rhino-Laryngologist certified and laryngologist formed by the scholarship specializing in voice and swallowing disorders. “The key elements to remember are to take sting of appropriate size, chew well and have water or liquid available during meals.”

I and other SLPs lead children and adults to slow down when eating solid foods, especially dry foods such as sandwiches, sushi and meat. It is also important to resist the urge to “push” or “chug” during the consumption of liquids. When we look back and consume large amounts of liquid quickly, gravity makes the structures in our throat harder, increasing the risk of suction or when something enters the respiratory tract.

Instead, it is better to tilt your head slightly drinking or using a straw. This allows severity to support your swallowing.

What causes a swallowing disorder?

“The difficulty in swallowing can occur with any event that causes inflammation or irritation in the throat,” said Dominguez. “This can be short -lived, such as after a higher respiratory infection, or more duration, as after radiotherapy on the neck or column surgery.”

For children, “swallowing disorders are the aegis of a pediatric food disorder. Research has shown that a child about three dozen under five is affected by a VFI, “said Amy Zembriski, pathologist in speech therapy in New Jersey. She explained that the swallowing disorders of childhood or adults can be caused by anxiety, sensitivity to texture or underlying medical diagnoses such as gastrointestinal distress, neurological disorders or food allergies. Sometimes the cause is unknown. “Lutting is used more than 30 muscles in our body, many cranial nerves and rapid coordination in order to move the food and liquids that we consume in complete safety of our mouths to our stomach,” said Zembriski.

One out of 17 adults over 45 also receives a diagnosis of dysphagia. “In adults, it often results from neurological conditions such as cerebral vascular accidents, Parkinson’s disease or dementia, and can also occur as a natural part of aging. The muscles involved in swallowing are weakening over time, just like the other muscles of the body, “said Stephanie Jeret, a SLP in Skokie, Illinois. Dysphagia can have a psychological root, or this can occur after gastrointestinal distress (i.e. gastroesophageal reflux, acidic and similar reflux), which is increasing in adults at all ages due to the use of GLP-1 agonists as Ozempic.

How is it to live with dysphagia?

A certain dysphagia is short -lived and can be resolved with treatment, but sometimes these disorders can last months or years.

“Living with dysphagia can be extremely difficult,” said Jeret. “Some people may need a food tube, while others should avoid certain food textures or liquid consistency to eat and drink safely.” Food changes, such as mash food or thickened liquids, may be necessary “to prevent food or liquids from entering the airways and provoking respiratory complications”.

Jetret and Zembriski both have children with food or swallowing difficulties. “Although I am well informed of the disorder in adults, it was overwhelming and scary to navigate it as a parent,” she said.

Food and swallowing disorders “may have a significant impact on the overall confidence of a child to connect with the others at meals,” said Zembriski. Children who have experienced dysphagia may have higher anxiety or strict food preferences and may lack social events.

“Meals can be stressful, overwhelming and like walking on egg shells,” she said. “Caregivers may have the impression of failing because their children may not maintain adequate nutrition, their children eat only a handful of food, or well -intentioned family members can tell them that” they will grow “or” you must simply make them eat “.”

Dysphagia in adults can be acute when there is sudden inflammation in the throat or a food blocking. It can also be recurrent or chronic. John Paul Andersen, a biomedical scientist in Lehi, UTAH, has developed a swallowing disorder in adulthood. “My dysphagia appeared for the first time at the age of 30. I ate steak and suddenly realized that he was stuck, and nothing could go around-not even saliva,” he said. “I have to eat all my meals in full awareness, which is a huge nuisance, but I learned to live with it.”

“Dysphagia is more widespread than many do not think so and can have a significant impact on quality of life,” said Jeret. “Early identification and intervention are essential to reduce health risks and help individuals to eat and drink with greater security, confidence and dignity.”

I lived with a gentle swallowing disorder for a year, which I noticed for the first time when solid foods felt likely to descend much more slowly than usual. Due to my experience as a clinician, I have already eaten conscience, but I had to slow even more. I did not know how fast my family and friends crossed the meals until I had to wait several seconds to swallow each bite. I would prefer to have more ease of eating, but I savor foods differently now – it’s almost meditative. Breathing and swallowing occurs nearby, and taking my time with the two reminds me of how fragile these ordinary processes can be.