Suffering from frequent pneumonia could be a sign of something more.
An estimated 15 million adults are affected by dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. When it’s undiagnosed and untreated, patients are at high risk for pulmonary aspiration which is when food and liquid go down the wrong passage way and into the lungs. This often leads to aspiration pneumonia requiring hospitalization.
Stacy Wolff, a certified VitalStim speech therapist at Westover Retirement Community in Hamilton, Ohio, said that signs of dysphagia include difficulty controlling food in the mouth, prolonged chewing, frequent coughing or choking, unexplained weight loss, a gurgly or wet vocal quality when eating, or a feeling of food stuck in the throat.
Some individuals will not exhibit outward signs, but will have “silent aspiration.”
Patients often include those with frequent pneumonia, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, muscular disorders, individuals who have recently had a stroke, and the older adult population due to physiological changes in the swallowing muscles.
Besides aspiration and pneumonia, some complications of dysphagia include malnutrition, dehydration and renal failure. According to Wolff, treatment for dysphagia is multifaceted.
— Exercises to target strengthening of the muscles.
— Diet modification: Examples include chopping or grounding meats to make chewing easier and thickening liquids to give the throat muscles more time to trigger the swallow.
— Compensatory technique education and training: Compensatory techniques facilitate safety while eating. Examples may include eating slow and taking one bite at a time to help with chewing and the use of a chin tuck to increase airway protection.
— Thermal stimulation: Rubbing the back of the patient’s mouth with a lemon ice swab often stimulates the swallowing process and increases the timing of the swallow.
— VitalStim: VitalStim uses low-voltage electrical stimulation which produces a muscle contraction to accelerate the rehabilitation of the muscle strength and function. An ideal therapy session consists of 60 minutes of VitalStim therapy in conjunction with exercises, thermal stimulation and feeding to improve swallowing function.
“Besides an enhanced quality of life, treating dysphagia has numerous cost-saving benefits as well,” Wolff said.
For example, treatment can cut down on healthcare costs from recurring pneumonia, peg tube feeding supplies, dietary supplements and liquid thickeners.
If you think you or someone you know may be struggling with Dysphagia, see your physician for a therapy referral and swallowing evaluation.
Emily Glaser is a writer for Your Time, a Community First Solutions publication for people age 50 and older.
