If you have difficulty swallowing, you may have a condition known as dysphagia. This has a range of symptoms, such as pain when swallowing, feeling hoarse, and difficulty swallowing. There are two types of dysphagia: esophageal and oropharyngeal. A doctor will check your symptoms and do other tests to determine which type of dysphagia you have. Below we look at how to manage and treat dysphagia.
Diet Changes
One of the easiest ways to manage dysphagia is to change your diet. Your doctor may recommend eliminating some foods that are difficult to swallow and focusing your diet on foods that you can still eat easily.
You may be referred to a dietician, who can help you eat well and get the right nutrition with a more limited diet. Dysphagia patients can also use a thickener like SimplyThick for trouble swallowing.
Positioning
Changing your diet is one thing, but how you eat can also make it easier to manage your symptoms. If you or a loved one has dysphagia, make sure to eat sitting upright, at a 90° angle. This can minimize the risk of choking on food or it getting stuck, as gravity helps with swallowing food and drink.
You should also tilt your head forward slightly and remain in an upright position or standing for around 20 minutes after you’ve eaten. This is the safest way to eat and drink when you have dysphagia and can make eating a more enjoyable experience.
Exercises
Exercise can help treat dysphagia, but only if you have oropharyngeal dysphagia. You may work with a speech and language therapist, who can teach you different techniques to practice at home to strengthen your throat muscles.
Over time, you may find that you can swallow with less pain and discomfort and are able to reintroduce certain foods back into your diet.
Medication
Medication can be used to treat and manage esophageal dysphagia, which treats the underlying cause. This type of dysphagia can be caused by a range of different medical conditions and treatments, such as radiation therapy and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Your doctor may recommend using antacids, which can reduce stomach acid if you have GERD, or muscle relaxants to treat the cause of your esophageal dysphagia. You can still swallow pills if you have dysphagia, but they should be swallowed with a pudding or yogurt, which is easier to swallow.
Surgery
For those with esophageal dysphagia, surgery may be recommended if other treatment options haven’t worked or your symptoms are getting worse. Sometimes dysphagia can cause an obstruction, which requires surgical intervention.
If dysphagia has been caused by a narrowing of your esophagus, surgery can be used to apply a stent into your esophagus, opening it up and treating the cause of your dysphagia.
Dysphagia can have an effect on your daily life, but with the right treatment options, it can be managed or go away entirely. The treatment for dysphagia will depend on which type you have but may include diet changes, positioning during meals, exercises, medication, or surgery. If you have difficulty swallowing, speak to your doctor straight away.
