Swallowing Disorders

Our entire team at Blossom Foods is committed to preparing our puree, ground and chopped meals for your continued enjoyment at mealtime. Our primary goal has always been to keep the pleasure in mealtime regardless of the texture. Do not hesitate to contact us with concerns, general questions, or information you may have regarding swallowing, food preferences, etc.

No, Blossom Foods can be for anyone who likes to eat a softer diet or who fatigues easily during mealtime. Many of our customers also have dental issues that soft food becomes a great help at mealtime. We also have customers that have arm/hand weakness or inability to coordinate their movements. There are many reasons one eats a soft diet.

Yes. The gold standard for the assessment and diagnosis of dysphagia is the modified barium swallow in which a patient is given small amounts of thin liquids, and/or barium, and/or a small piece of a cookie or cracker. The assessment includes x-ray and video of the swallowing process to determine which stage of swallowing is involved. A “bedside evaluation or visually observing a patient eating/drinking a variety of liquids and textures can also be done to observe where the difficulties may be.

Yes. Aspiration (food or liquid entering the lungs), malnutrition and can also affect the ability to take many of their prescribed medications.

Your physician will begin the diagnostic process to see if you have a swallowing disorder and recommend the next steps.

The numbers of dysphagia ranges between 7% and 35% of the population; most quote about 20%. This number includes all adults, it is accepted that older adults and people with acid reflux are more commonly affected. More importantly, many believe that only half of those with symptoms of dysphagia discuss them with their physician.

Some observable signs indicating potential problems include the following: coughing while eating or drinking; choking on food, fluid, or medication; a gurgly sounding voice, especially after eating or drinking; difficulty swallowing food or fluid; and the pocketing of food on one side of the mouth. Weight loss for no other apparent reason can be another key sign that swallowing has become an issue.

Below may be a few of the questions your physician may ask. Do you often cough or choke after eating or drinking? Does it sometimes feel as though food is going down the “wrong way”? Do you often feel that food is stuck in your throat? How long does it take you to eat a meal? Is eating sometimes less enjoyable than it had been previously? Have you recently experienced weight loss without trying to lose weight?

Your physician can provide you with names and information to educate yourself to dysphagia. With the internet, a search of dysphagia will also lead you to many resources that will help you learn more about this condition.

Treatment for dysphagia includes the involvement of both a speech language therapist and a registered dietitian. “Health professionals, particularly speech therapists, work with patients to improve the safety of their swallow with compensatory techniques, strengthening exercises, electrical stimulation, adaptive devices, and more including catering to patients’ food preferences and making mealtime as relaxing as possible. The problem can be progressive and soft or puréed foods—and in severe cases tube feeding—may be necessary permanently. A speech therapist typically identifies the specific problem and makes recommendations that may include changes in positioning or posture when eating or drinking, exercises to strengthen or improve swallowing muscles, techniques to aid in swallowing more safely, or changes in consistency of foods (such as puréeing or mashing them) and the possibility of adding thickeners to fluids to improve ease of swallowing.

From the Medical Website: Normally, the muscles in your throat and esophagus squeeze, or contract, to move food and liquids from your mouth to your stomach without problems. Sometimes, though, food and liquids have trouble getting to your stomach. There are two types of problems that can make it hard for food and liquids to travel down your esophagus: The muscles and nerves that help move food through the throat and esophagus are not working right. This can happen if you have: Had a stroke or a brain or spinal cord injury. Certain problems with your nervous system, such as post-polio syndrome, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, or Parkinson's disease. An immune system problem that causes swelling (orinflammation) and weakness, such as polymyositis ordermatomyositis. Esophageal spasm. This means that the muscles of the esophagus suddenly squeeze. Sometimes this can prevent food from reaching the stomach. Scleroderma. In this condition, tissues of the esophagus become hard and narrow. Scleroderma can also make the lower esophageal muscle weak, which may cause food and stomach acid to come back up into your throat and mouth. Something is blocking your throat or esophagus. This may happen if you have: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). When stomach acid backs up regularly into your esophagus, it can cause ulcers in the esophagus, which can then cause scars to form. These scars can make your esophagus narrower. Esophagitis. This is inflammation of the esophagus. This can be caused by different problems, such as GERD or having an infection or getting a pill stuck in the esophagus. It can also be caused by anallergic reaction to food or things in the air. Diverticula. These are small sacs in the walls of the esophagus or the throat. Esophageal tumors. These growths in the esophagus may becancerous or not cancerous. Masses outside the esophagus, such as lymph nodes, tumors, orbone spurs on the vertebrae that press on your esophagus. A dry mouth can make dysphagia worse. This is because you may not have enough saliva to help move food out of your mouth and through your esophagus. A dry mouth can be caused by medicines or another health problem.

Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing . Although dysphagia can happen to anyone, it is most common in older adults, babies, and people who have problems of the brain or nervous system. There are many different problems that can prevent the throat or esophagus from working properly. Some of these are minor, and others are more serious. If you have a hard time swallowing once or twice, you probably do not have a medical problem. But if you have trouble swallowing on a regular basis, you may have a more serious problem that needs treatment. Please contact your physician.