Safe Eating Tips for People with Swallowing Difficulties

Swallowing might be seamless and effortless, but some people have swallowing difficulties. Swallowing challenges, more commonly referred to as dysphagia, are associated with several conditions such as aging, throat cancer, injuries, and stroke.

If the condition cannot be treated, the patient might experience choking, dehydration, aspiration, and malnutrition. This article shares safe eating tips for people with swallowing difficulties to ensure they are healthy and happy.

Modify Foods and Liquids

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Taking liquids, such as tea, milk, water, soda, or overly fluid foods, poses a challenge for people with swallowing problems because controlling them in the mouth is difficult. However, using a food thickener to thicken fluids can help prevent choking. Family and caregivers can also offer dysphagia patients thickened liquids, usually available in different consistencies, to ensure they can swallow safely.

For instance, some health professionals might recommend honey-thick or nectar-thick fluids, depending on the level of dysphagia. The patients can also safely consume banana puree, yoghurt, or thickened fluids without swallowing difficulties.

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Food thickeners make it easy for the patients to chew, move the food around their mouths, and swallow it. It also reduces the risk of food entering the windpipe when swallowing, which can cause pneumonia. Therefore, caregivers should be keen to thicken every liquid and blend or smash solid foods to achieve the desired thickness and minimize the risk of choking, pain, or aspiration.

Sitting in the Right Posture

Healthcare professionals might ask older adults with dysphagia to adopt a certain posture when swallowing, depending on the cause of their swallowing difficulty. They should also position their bodies upright to prevent the food from entering the windpipe, carrying air to the lungs.

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If the older person with dysphagia has a back problem and cannot sit upright, the caregivers or families should use specialized adaptive equipment to assist in this process. Some beds and chairs are designed to promote maximum independence among the patients and can help when feeding a dysphagia patient.

In addition, seniors with swallowing difficulties should avoid talking when chewing or swallowing simultaneously. It is also advisable for people with dysphagia to sit up for about half an hour after every meal.

Another safe tip for individuals with swallowing difficulties is eating slowly and mindfully to minimize distraction. They should sit quietly and focus on eating to avoid distraction, which could lead to aspiration or choking.

Find the Right Food Texture

In addition to modifying foods and drinks, caregivers should choose the right food texture for their patients or loved ones. For example, they can use syrup to moisten pancakes before offering them to someone with swallowing difficulties.

Other foods, like potatoes, must be properly cooked and softened for easy swallowing. They can use milk to soften bread and cereals. They should avoid food items like canned or raw fruits and vegetables, which could worsen the situation. Eating cabbage and broccoli can also lead to the risk of choking and should therefore be avoided. They should avoid dry rice, hard bread, biscuits, and cookies.

Dysphagia patients should consume foodstuffs from different food groups to get the energy, proteins, vitamins, and minerals that the body needs. The food should be chewable to prevent choking, pain, or aspiration. When blending foods, caregivers should observe hygiene to avoid contamination.

Patients with impaired swallowing and their caregivers can apply these tips to minimize the risk of aspiration or choking. Slow eating, choosing soft foods with the right consistency, and maintaining proper posture ensure the patient eats enough without compromising safety. Caregivers should also seek more tips from competent healthcare providers with sufficient experience.