Contents:
- Medical Video: How to treat dysphagia (swallowing difficulties)
- Dysphagia is different from odinophagia, pain when swallowing
- Then, can difficulty swallowing due to dysphagia be cured?
- What is the right treatment for this condition?
Medical Video: How to treat dysphagia (swallowing difficulties)
Basically, the problem of difficulty swallowing is not something to worry about if it only happens occasionally. Maybe it's because you eat too fast or don't chew food properly. But if it goes on and on and doesn't heal, you should immediately see a doctor. In the medical world, a difficult swallowing condition is called dysphagia. Can dysphagia recover? How to?
Dysphagia is different from odinophagia, pain when swallowing
Problems with difficulty swallowing due to dysphagia are not the same as pain when swallowing (odinophagia). Someone who has dysphagia has difficulty swallowing food and feeling as if the food is stuck in the throat. You need to work harder and take longer to swallow food. Meanwhile, people who experience odinophagia can still swallow food easily, it's just painful.
In addition to odynophagia, which is interpreted as the presence of pain when swallowing, other swallowing disorders that are often considered the same, namely dysphagia or difficulty swallowing. In fact, both are different conditions even though they can occur at the same time.
Dysphagia is caused by problems in the nerves or muscles in the mouth, tongue, throat, esophagus, or a combination of these things. The source of nerve or muscle problems that make it difficult to swallow, there are many causes. Some are underlying chronic diseases, such as stroke, achalasia, ALS, gastric acid reflux (GERD), and esophageal cancer.
Dysphagia is divided into three types, namelyoral dysphagia because of the weak tongue muscles,pharyngeal dysphagia because the throat muscles are problematic so they cannot push food into the stomach, andesophageal dysphagia because of the blockage or irritation of the esophagus.
Then, can difficulty swallowing due to dysphagia be cured?
Even though dysphagia is not a condition that is too worrying, you still need proper care. Difficulty swallowing for a long time can make you lazy to eat and eventually the eating breath decreases, so the body does not get enough nutrients. Care is also needed so that the disorder does not get worse.
Quoted from the NHS Choices page, most cases of difficulty swallowing can be cured. However, you have to know exactly what causes it to cause you to swallow. Treatment for dysphagia will be determined by the type and causes of dysphagia.
Even in some cases, treating the underlying disease, such as oral cancer or esophageal cancer, can help alleviate the condition.
What is the right treatment for this condition?
As explained above, the treatment of dysphagia must be adjusted to the type and underlying cause.
If your dysphagia is oropharyngeal dysfagia (mouth and throat), treatment includes swallowing therapy to improve muscle ability, mouth response, and stimulate nerves that will trigger swallowing reflexes. The other option is to see a nutritionist to ask for advice on the right diet, while ensuring you get a healthy and balanced diet. Usually, you will be encouraged to multiply the consumption of soft foods and liquids that make it easier to swallow.
If the above methods do not work, your doctor can recommend that you install a food tube to put nutrients into your body while you are recovering from the disease. Food intake through tubes is especially done for people who have experienced complications of dysphagia such as pneumonia, malnutrition, dehydration, or other severe cases at risk of experiencing malnutrition.
Oropharyngeal dysfafia is usually quite difficult to treat, especially if caused by damage to the nervous system such as a stroke. His condition cannot be cured immediately if only using drugs or surgery. Therefore, effective treatment is needed for this.
For cases of esophageal dysphagia with problems originating from the esophagus, the treatment options are botox injections to relax the esophageal muscles that are rigid due to achalasia or by prescribing drugs such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to reduce stomach acid and widen the esophageal canal. 3. Operation
Other cases of esophageal dysphagia can usually be treated with surgery or surgery to correct narrowing or blockage of the esophagus, which is usually caused by tumor growth in the esophagus or esophageal muscles that are rigid due to achalasia.
