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Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is a disorder in which food passes through the esophagus from the mouth to the stomach. Swallowing problems may occur, among others, in the elderly, neurologically ill and patients with head and neck cancers. It is estimated that after the age of 7, 10-XNUMX percent. suffers from dysphagia. There are also disease entities where problems with swallowing food occur relatively frequently, regardless of age.
What is dysphagia?
There are two main types of dysphagia: upper dysphagia and lower dysphagia. With upper dysphagia, it is difficult for food to pass into the esophagus. The problem may arise in diseases of the central nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, as well as in the case of head tumors or oral cavity cancers. On the other hand, we refer to lower dysphagia when there are difficulties with the passage of food through the esophagus. Such problems most often appear in the case of structural damage to the esophagus: as a result of tumors, the presence of a foreign body, scars, esophageal fibrosis, but also in neurotic spasms of the esophagus.
Dysphagia sufferers often report how difficult it is to swallow even a small bite of food or drink without choking. The problem may appear already at the stage of chewing, then the patient accumulates food in the cheeks. Difficulty swallowing is more common when swallowing fluids – and later also when swallowing solid food. Swallowing is often accompanied by choking, retching, dry cough, choking, and choking – which can lead to aspiration pneumonia, which is dangerous for the patient’s life. Eating becomes more and more onerous. I am sick with reluctance and less and less.
There is also a common misconception that sick people, sometimes due to their state – lying down, do not need the same amount of energy in food as healthy people. Meanwhile, sick people lose a lot of energy due to the ongoing disease process in their body. Therefore, the dysphagia that accompanies the patient’s underlying disease in a short time may lead to dehydration or malnutrition of the patient. In addition to the loss of muscle mass, motor functions also deteriorate. Tissues damaged as a result of malnutrition regenerate worse. A consequence of malnutrition is also an increased susceptibility to infections and the formation of pressure ulcers. To avoid this, meals prepared for people with dysphagia must at the same time have the right consistency to facilitate safer swallowing, and must contain all the necessary nutrients.
How to feed a patient with dysphagia?
People who have difficulty swallowing should eat more often, every 3-4 hours, in small portions.
The consistency of foods is very important and must be adapted to the patient’s swallowing ability – the consistency of food and drinks consumed by the patient should be determined by the attending physician, and the patient’s condition should be constantly monitored. Depending on the severity of dysphagia, you should eliminate either only liquid products or also hard and dry products that require chewing and chewing.
For minor problems with swallowing, solid food, but not hard, it is enough to crush or rub until it is smooth, without lumps or whole pieces of food.
In the event of greater difficulty in swallowing, the foods must be thoroughly mixed into a mush and sometimes thickened with special thickening preparations available over the counter in pharmacies, e.g. Nutilis Clear. Dishes prepared in this way do not lose their taste and nutritional value, and reduce the risk of the patient choking on food.
Dry products, such as bread, cookies, sponge cakes must be softened in tea or soup or not be served at all before being given to the patient.
Administering drinks to a patient with dysphagia is a big challenge – because fluids are very difficult for patients with swallowing problems to swallow. Therefore, for patients who choke while drinking, drinks can be thickened with special preparations, which greatly facilitates their drinking, by adjusting the consistency of the drink to the patient’s abilities. It is also easier to drink through a straw than directly from a cup.
The use of specialized preparations for thickening can definitely facilitate the preparation of a meal with the appropriate consistency recommended by a doctor to the sick person.
The second thing is to prepare a small portion of the meal that is caloric enough and contains all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals. To do this, add possibly high-calorie additives to the prepared meals – creams, oils, mayonnaises, sweeten sweet foods with sugar or honey – so as to supplement the body’s increased demand for energy. Meals should also be balanced – contain unsaturated fats, protein and carbohydrates.
A very important nutrient in the diet of sick people is high-quality protein. It is the protein that is responsible for the regeneration of damaged tissues. The patient’s meals can be supplemented with oral dietary supplements in liquid form, which can only be added to meals or used as complete meals. The special supplements are nutritionally complete and rich in macro- and micronutrients. An additional advantage of ready-made nutritional products is the simple and quick way of preparing them and the possibility of thickening them with Nutilis if a patient with dysphagia cannot swallow them.
Find out more about nutrition for people with swallowing difficulties at www.nutilis.pl
Nutilis Clear is a dietary food for special medical purposes. For the dietary management of dysphagia. Use under medical supervision.