How to Identify a Swallowing Difficulty

Difficulty in swallowing or dysphagia refers to a state where a person has a hard time ingesting any types of food and liquids. This condition often occurs with pain and can also be associated with the feeling that something is sticking in your throat or chest. There are a lot of causes of swallowing difficulties including lack of pharyngeal muscle coordination, impaired mandibular movements and tongue control, esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus), inability of esophageal muscles to properly contract, a hernia or tumor present around the area of the throat, pressure on the external part of the esophagus caused by goiter, and nervous system disorders such as stroke and cerebral palsy.

Instructions

How to Identify Swallowing Difficulties

• 1

  Observe your ability to chew food. Some cases of swallowing difficulties begin in the oral phase of swallowing--a phase when the food is turned into a bolus, defined as a soft mass of chewed food ready to be swallowed. If you suffer from an impairment in your tongue and mandibular bone, you may find it hard to chew and swallow your food. You may have difficulty in crushing and mashing your food properly because of a decreased strength in your tongue muscles and inability to align your teeth properly because of poor mandibular movement.

• 2

  Take note of the efficiency of your swallowing. If you suffer from dysphagia, you often eat slow because it may take you a while to ingest the food. Pain may be present when you try to slide food from your mouth into your throat (odynophagia), which can be the reason why you can't swallow. There may be a need for you to wash down solid foods with water to facilitate an easy passage of your food--but even this can be difficult to do. You may have to initiate a few swallowing attempts just to ingest one bolus of food. And when you do ingest it, only gradual swallowing occurs, delaying the passage of food from your esophagus to your stomach.

• 3

  Notice how often you choke when taking in food or liquids. It is normal for you to choke when you eat your food too fast. But if it happens often even if you are eating in a normal pace, then that could be a problem. With dysphagia, you usually cough during and after you swallow your food. This even occurs when you drink liquids. You may find it difficult to sustain liquid in your oral cavity, leading to unexpected passage of water into your pharynx. With your pharynx being unprepared with the entry of the liquid, you may feel like you are being gagged or choked. You may also experience instances when coughing or clearing your throat may not help in getting the food or water out--you have to contact immediate medical assistance if this happens.

• 4

  Monitor the number of times when you experience food or liquid backing up in your throat. Regurgitation of ingested food and liquid is typical if you suffer from dysphagia. Food or liquid may spill out of your mouth as you attempt to swallow. And if you did successfully swallow your food or water, it may regurgitate when you are sleeping or just lying down. Sometimes regurgitated liquids may pass through your nose, which can be painful. When food backs up into your throat, stomach acid goes along with it. So as a result of these regurgitations, you may experience other dysphagia symptoms such as frequent gastroesophageal reflux and heartburn due to irritation of your lower esophageal sphincter.

• 5

  Check for other symptoms of dysphagia. Weight loss and dehydration may occur as a result of your swallowing difficulties. You may also experience discomforting sensations such as heaviness on the area of your neck and chest, feeling extremely tired and out of breath during or after eating, the constant feeling of having a lump on your throat, and having a painful and congested chest. Recurrent sore throat is possible as a result of your throat having to work hard when you eat or drink. And often after you eat, your voice may sound harsh or your may sound like you are gargling something when you talk.