Things To Know Concerning Swallow Study For Dysphagia

By Ruth Green


Swallowing impairment is one of the major issues which are very common and normally people take the complication lightly. The reason is because the symptoms normally come and disappear with time and reoccurs again. People mistake the condition with consumption of certain foods which exposes the patient to more severe complications. Below is some of the swallow study for dysphagia treatment.

When people experience these impaired swallowing disorder, they are always advised to seek medical attention from a medical practitioner who will carefully examines their physical history. Normally, the study is very crucial since it helps in identifying the path physiology of the disorder, compensatory techniques and also the empirical therapeutic testing.

When this food is rolled down it is at the second stage of oral propulsion where after the bolus has been fully chewed in the presence of a catalyst called saliva amylase, the food is then swallowed where it moves down the gut. The third stage is the pharyngeal phase where a sequence of overlapping activities is involved. During this phase the upper esophageal sphincter relaxes, and a forward movement of the larynx and hyoid bone to pull it open to allow the food to pass.

The swallowing techniques are normally used with the aim of improving the patients swallowing frequency and to exercise muscles. These exercises are done by use of specific foods and fluids which are known to be very friendly to the throat. One of these techniques used is the Lollipop Swallowing method where a sugarless lollipop is placed in the mouth and licked three times. An effortful swallowing is done with the limps pressed together firmly. The number of counts to be repeated depends on the degree of complications.

The main objective of this kind study is to create awareness especially to patients who have silent aspiration, identify the anatomic area which is usually involved and also get ideas of the etiology of such disorder. In the anatomic region identification, the evaluation usually involves determining whether it is a esophageal, oral or pharyngeal complication whereas in the etiology study evaluation of duration, onset and severity of the conditions are determined.

Once the causes of this complication have been identified, treatment is commenced immediately. The treatment subjected usually depends on the cause of the problem. Dilation is one of treatment methods used where any narrow areas of esophagus are expanded using a device. The doctor may prescribe some certain foods and drinks in order to make the swallowing better.

Another simple technique used to manage these complications is the tongue exercise where it involves two different sessions but all involving the use of the tongue. The first session the patient is allowed to stretch their tongue outside as far as possible and hold it maintaining the same position for the longest time as directed by the medical practitioner.

In other cases where the complication is severe, a surgery may be conducted especially for those patients who may have foods stuck on the lower esophagus. However, antibiotic medicines are usually recommended to patients who have aesophagitis or heart burns. These medicines are meant to block stomach acids from reaching the esophagus thus relieving the patient from reoccurrence of these heartburn.




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