Swallowing Disorder in Seniors

Sometimes, certain conditions can have a slow, insidious onset. We barely notice a day-to-day change. But then across time, we see a real visible problem. One of these "sneaky" conditions is a swallowing disorder. Unless we are familiar with the symptoms, we may not notice much of a change or attribute a mild change to another reason.

What is a Swallowing Disorder?

According to The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), "dysphagia" is the medical term for a swallowing disorder. ASHA describes that this disorder occurs when you have difficulty in one or more of these swallowing functions:

Oral phase – sucking, chewing, and moving food or liquid into the throat.
Pharyngeal phase – starting the swallow and squeezing food down the throat. You need to close off your airway to keep food or liquid out. Food going into the airway can cause coughing and choking.
Esophageal phase – opening and closing the esophagus, or the tube that goes from the mouth to the stomach. The esophagus squeezes food down to the stomach. Food can get stuck in the esophagus. Or, you may throw up a lot if there is a problem with your esophagus.

Speech and language professionals within ASHA not only evaluate the ability to form speech per se but are also the experts at the anatomy and muscle movement required for swallowing. ASHA describes signs of swallowing disorders as follow:

General signs of a swallowing problem may include:

coughing during or right after eating or drinking
wet or gurgly sounding voice during or after eating or drinking
extra effort or time needed to chew or swallow
food or liquid leaking from your mouth
food getting stuck in your mouth
having a hard time breathing after meals
losing weight

As a result, you may have:

dehydration or poor nutrition
food or liquid going into the airway, called aspiration
pneumonia or other lung infections

Causes

A large number of neurological diseases can cause difficulty swallowing, including stroke, brain injury, ALS (otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease), Parkinson's Disease, and Alzheimer's Disease. The connection from the brain to the musculature of the mouth and throat can be negatively affected, causing difficulty with the physical requirements for swallowing. Other conditions that can cause trouble swallowing include head, mouth, and neck cancer, or injury or poor dental health resulting in the inability to chew food properly before attempting to swallow it.

Treatment

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are the premier resource to treat a senior with a swallowing condition. It is recommended you talk to your doctor for a referral to an SLP who specializes in swallowing difficulty. You can also find a practitioner in your area by searching here. An SLP, in partnership with your physician, can gather necessary information through a test called a Barium Swallow Study. This non-invasive study tracks the actions of gathering food in the mouth and swallowing it. The test can detect a malfunction in the process and help to guide the treatment plan. The SLP is the expert at formulating a treatment plan; however, treatment often consists of exercises to strengthen the swallowing muscles and possibly adapt for permanent swallowing changes by changing food consistency to make it easier and safer to swallow. Treatment is incredibly important because, as outlined above, if a person has a swallowing disorder, he or she can choke, or the food can travel into the airway and down into the lungs, causing pneumonia.

Visiting Angels Gulf Shores, AL Can Help

Our caregivers with Visiting Angels Gulf Shores have a keen eye to recognize the possible symptoms of a swallowing disorder. We offer a service called the Personal Care Program that includes meal preparation. If we see a concern during mealtime, we will bring that concern to the attention of the seniors we care for and their family caregivers to address with their physician. Visiting Angels is the premier in-home caregiving service for Foley, Alabama and surrounding areas because we pay attention to these critical details. If a senior loved one requires a particular food consistency such as softened foods or thickened liquids, we provide those custom needs following instructions from family caregivers and involved medical staff as needed.

If you or a senior loved one would like to explore in-home care with Visiting Angels Gulf Shores, please call us at 251-270-2589 or contact us online to learn more.