A Speech Pathologist Explains Common Swallowing Issues: Causes and Coping
Kilpatrick is the author of the popular 5-volume “Therapy Guides for Language and Speech Disorders workbooks.” Her website, Communication Connection, is an excellent resource for memory fitness and successful aging. Below, she gives us insight into causes and coping with swallowing problems.
Knowing when swallowing problems can occur
Something most of us take for granted is our ability to swallow. There are many things that can contribute to swallowing difficulties (dysphagia), including stroke, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, oral cancer, or problems with teeth or dentures. In some situations, the symptoms are obvious, but in others, a person may see gradual changes and not realize that the problems a person is having could be due to dysphagia.
Periodic choking, especially on certain foods, frequent throat clearing or the feeling that foods are sticking in their throat are a few of the complaints we often hear.
As a speech-language pathologist in home health care, many of my referrals are for a person who was in the hospital for aspiration pneumonia because food or liquid went into their lungs. It is not unusual to learn that there had been some changes in swallowing abilities for a period of time prior to this incident, but the issue was never mentioned to their doctor.
In one example, I evaluated a man who had been coughing and choking on liquids and solid/liquid combinations like cold cereal and soup for years. Eventually, his physical…
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