If you have recently developed, or indeed have been living for a long time, with difficulty in swallowing, then hopefully you have already found, if not a solution to the problem, but certainly a way of alleviating it.
With that being said, it is important to get a hold of your dysphagia or dysphagia-related symptoms before they end up affecting not only your physical wellbeing but your emotional health as well.
Dysphagia Causes & Symptoms
There are a myriad of different issues that may cause a problem with chewing and swallowing, including if a person has suffered a medical stroke, other neurological conditions such as brain tumors or head trauma, and more psychological issues such as stress and anxiety.
Signs and symptoms that someone may be living with dysphagia are by no means only confined to problems with chewing and swallowing and can involve an inexplicable and rather speedy reduction in body weight, problems with gulping, choking when eating or drinking, heartburn that occurs regularly, an inability to control the amount of saliva in the mouth and uncontrollable drooling.
Problems & Issues That Trouble Swallowing Can Cause
Fortunately, there is a multitude of treatments from medical professionals that can be done at home that can make problems with chewing and swallowing far less of a daily problem.
However, if left untreated or dysphagia symptoms quickly worsen, there are a few major dangers that a person who consistently has problems chewing or swallowing can be exposed to. Namely, the constant coughing and choking can bring on the onset of pneumonia which, obviously, in older adults can be a serious danger.
Ways To Treat Swallowing Problems At Home
One of, if not the most effective ways to treat your problems with chewing and swallowing by yourself at home is to invest in a set of Simply Thick packets, which is an effective and affordable thickening liquid that you can add to a myriad of pureed food and drinks.
Other more traditional, organic, and natural methods for adapting to life with dysphagia that can be wholly done at home include basic throat, neck, and mouth exercises and changing the type of foods and drinks consumed.
Medicinal Ways To Treat Swallowing Problems
There are a host of different treatments available for those who are living with the pain and discomfort than dysphagia can bring.
Speech and language therapists are extremely versed and skilled in helping a person control their mouth and neck movements whilst they are eating.
There is also an option to have surgery for people who have particularly severe dysphagia, but first they would have to undergo several tests to determine the root cause of the swallowing problem. The medical professional will take an x-ray of your mouth and throat after consuming a barium solution which coats your throat, making the resulting x-ray clearer.
There are essentially four different types of surgery available to people suffering from extreme dysphagia, the most common being a tracheostomy.