What is Dysphagia and how to treat it

Posted by Refluxmd on February 21st, 2018

Dysphagia refers to difficulty in swallowing food or liquid. Individuals with the disease take more time to consume food than normal people. The effect of dysphagia might also lead to pain or impossibility in swallowing food.

Symptoms

When a patient has dysphagia, he/she might feel that the food is stuck. The other symptoms and signs associated with dysphagia includes

• Experiencing pain while swallowing food
• Unable to swallow food
• Drooling
• Being horse
• Experiencing heartburn frequently
• Acid reflux
• Backing up of food in throat
• Recurrent heartburn
• Unexpected loss of weight
• Gaging or coughing while swallowing liquid or food
• Inability to control the saliva

Types of Dysphagia

The dysphagia is classified into three types: oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal.

High Dysphagia

The dysphagia occurring in the mouth is called oral dysphagia. It is a type of high dysphagia. In such cases, the problem occurs in the mouth. It is sometimes caused due to the weakness of tongue after experiencing a stroke, food transportation problem from the mouth, or any sort of trouble in chewing food.

Pharyngeal

Pharyngeal dysphagia occurs due to issues in the throat. It is a type of high dysphagia. Such issues are occurred due to nerve affecting neurological problems such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease and so on.

Esophageal

The esophageal dysphagia occurs due to the problems in the esophagus. It is a type of low dysphagia. Such an issue occurs due to irritation or blockage.

Dysphagia Treatment

The dysphagia treatment of depends on the type of dysphagia a patient is affected with.

High Dysphagia

For high dysphagia, there are three major types of treatment: swallowing therapy, dietary changes, and feeding tubes.

1. Swallowing therapy: In a swallowing therapy, the patient might be referred to speech and language therapist (SLT). The professionally trained SLTs make use of techniques that are customized according to the patient’s problem.
2. Dietary changes: The patients might have to undergo dietary changes for receiving healthy and balanced diet. SLTs might advise the patients to consume soft foods and other healthy foods to avoid with heartburn.
3. Feeding tubes: The feeding tubes can help in providing the required nutrition, while a patient recovers from swallowing ability.

Low Dysphagia

The dysphagia caused in the esophagus can be treated using medication, botulinum toxin, or surgery.

1. Medication: Low dysphagia can be treated using medications based on the type of dysphagia. For instance, the treatment of indigestion can take place using proton pump inhibitors.
2. Botulinum toxin: The patients suffering from achalasia can sometimes be treated with Botulinum toxin. In such a condition the esophagus becomes stiff and does due to which food and liquid do not enter into the stomach.
3. Surgery: Some esophageal dysphagia can be treated using surgery also. The surgery could include endoscopic dilatation and inserting a stent.

Therefore, before undertaking a dysphagia treatment, it is essential to learn the type of dysphagia. The type of treatments for high dysphagia includes swallowing therapy to swallow food, dietary changes such as foods to avoid with heartburn, and feeding tubes. On the other hand, the type of treatments for low dysphagia includes medication, botulinum toxin, or surgery.

Author Bio:

RefluxMD provides an overview of all reflux treatment. If you are looking for Home Remedies for Heartburnget in touch with us so that we can guide you based on the Symptoms Of Acid Reflux.

Original source: https://sites.google.com/site/refluxmdguide/what-is-dysphagia-and-how-to-treat-it