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Improving The Health Of Patients Stricken By Swallowing Problems and Dysphagia
Dysphagia can inflict serious health consequences, not to mention it is a serious condition on its own. You could worry about pneumonia but there is another problem which encroaches your system like a slow moving plague. It's malnutrition, which is brought about by inability to swallow food properly. Dysphagic patients need not only overcome the swallowing disorder but also the fear of eating that comes with it. It is but understandable to find eating a dreadful experience. If you were to get food stuck in your throat, you could be more than bothered. Fear of eating and inability to swallow food lead to malnutrition and dehydration. Addressing the swallowing dysfunction is important in easing nutritional problems.
Malnutrition can make you more vulnerable to life threatening pneumonia or it can worsen an existing pneumonia. Poor nutrition weakens your immune system and weak immune system allows bacteria to proliferate in the oropharyngeal region. This could lead to a vicious feedback loop wherein malnutrition worsens pneumonia, which in turn weakens the body as the lungs become congested and fail to function efficiently.
Now, your body needs various nutrients for all its systems to function normally. Hence, after a while, a person can develop osteoporosis, anemia, and muscular breakdown. Without prompt treatment, the patient can experience functional decline. This is why dysphagic individuals need to be screened for signs of nutritional deficiency. Nutritional assessment can be done through analysis of body composition, biochemical tests, and clinical exams.
Various health issues can be revealed by medical assessments. For example, almost half of the people who suffered from stroke suffer from some form of malnutrition. On the other hand, 65% of stroke patients with dysphagia and swallowing problems suffer from nutritional problems.
Dysphagic patients need to get adequate supply of nutrients but they cannot just eat anything. They must follow special diet that involves pureed and soft foods and prethickened beverages. Thickened liquids are an essential part of a dysphagic's diet. Not only do these provide needed fluids but also prevents aspiration. Patients cannot just drink anything, and drinking water or coffee or fruit juice should be done cautiously. This is why they are susceptible to dehydration which leads to fatigue, reduction of saliva production (which furthers the risk of pneumonia), and loss of mental focus. Dehydration debilitates the immune system which makes one prone to diseases. It should also be noted that dehydration can affect one's metabolism.
Aside from giving thickened liquids to the patient, succulent foods have high fluid content, so they can top off fluid requirements. Foods high in water content include fruits, vegetables, custards, and pudding. Unfortunately, some patients need fluids to be fed to them intravenously.
Dysphagic patients should not neglect oral hygiene. Retention of food and dried secretions can promote growth of bacteria and weaken one's gustatory sensitivity. Lemon glycerin swabs can be used to eliminate secretions. It is important to maintain oral hygiene to keep bacterial growth at bay.
There are exercises that can help patients when it comes to eating, chewing, and swallowing. Speech-language pathologists can devise lip, tongue, and jaw exercises. Lip exercises can improve patients' ability to keep food from falling out of the mouth. Strengthening the tongue can help one achieve better control of the food during chewing and during the initiation of swallowing. The upper respiratory tract can be strengthened through coughing and resistive straw sucking. Vocal fold adduction techniques can help in strengthening of the vocal fold. There are various other exercises that may help people with swallowing difficulties eat better and safer. In some serious cases, patients may be helped through surgery. You should contact your doctor if you experience swallowing difficulty for an unusual length of time.
Author Resource:-
Jo is an author and publisher for 'Dysphagia' (http://www.dysphagia.org.uk), a web page owned by Fresenius Kabi, a medical care enterprise specializing in certain fields of clinical nutrition and infusion of therapy having over 15 years know-how of giving individuals with swallowing difficulties with Thick & Easy™, the UK's foremost instant food thickener. If ever you are diagnosed with or know anybody who has dysphagia then take a look at Dysphagia.org.uk.
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