- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): causes
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): symptoms
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): what tests?
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): treatment
Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) can have different causes. Swallowing problems can be the result of damage to structures in the mouth, throat, and larynx, as well as diseases that are apparently unrelated to the upper digestive system. Find out about the causes of your swallowing problems, associated symptoms and treatment.
Contents:
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): causes
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): symptoms
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): what tests?
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): treatment
Dysphagiameansswallowing disorders- difficulty or inability to swallow, which is caused by the disturbance of the passage of swallowed food. The patient then complains of a feeling of incomplete swallowing, a feeling of something stuck in the esophagus.
Dysphagia can appear when a bite of food moves from the mouth to the throat or when food moves through the esophagus, which is why we distinguish:
- Pre-esophageal dysphagia (also known as upper or oropharyngeal dysphagia)
- esophageal (lower) dysphagia
If the oral disorder is affected,symptomsappear, such as:
- leakage of saliva or food from the mouth
- food or saliva in the mouth
- or both
Ifswallowing disordersconcern the pharyngeal part, a bite of food may get stuck in the throat, get into the nose, induce vomiting, choking, coughing.
In extreme cases, food can get into the respiratory tract. In esophageal dysphagia, food retains in the esophagus, which causes pain, a burning sensation, and a burning sensation behind the breastbone.
Pain when swallowing, the so-called odynophagia occurs in inflammation, especially bacterial and fungal conditions of the mouth, throat and palatine tonsils, or it may accompany neoplastic changes and conditions after radiotherapy of these areas.
Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): causes
- Nowotwory
Dysphagia may develop in the course of locally growing cancers of the mouth, tongue, throat, esophagus, narrowing the lumen of the upper gastrointestinal tract and preventing passagea chunk of food.
U about 80-90 percent these patients are diagnosed with dysphagia. Mediastinal tumors or packages of metastatic lymph nodes in the neck can also cause dysphagia due to compression of the throat or esophagus.
Dysphagia can also be caused by damage to the cranial nerves responsible for the proper course of the swallowing process. Such damage often occurs in the course of tumors infiltrating the base of the skull.
Treatment of oncological conditions affecting the head or neck region - whether in the form of surgery or radiation - can also contribute to dysphagia.
Previous surgical procedures and radiation to the oral cavity, tongue, pharynx and esophagus may cause tissue fibrosis, reduced tongue mobility, difficulty in opening the mouth and narrowing of the esophagus, leading to dysphagia.
Neurological disorders
- Parkinson's disease - patients often complain of problems with biting, chewing and swallowing food. In addition, a depressed mood, changes in the perception of tastes and a quick satiety result in the consumption of less food, which in turn directly translates into weight loss
- myasthenia gravis - is a disease whose essence is muscle weakness. When the myasthenia gravis affects the muscles of the pharynx, larynx and oral cavity, not only speech disorders occur. It is also difficult to bite, chew and swallow bites of food
- multiple sclerosis - the most common symptoms are optic atrophy, speech impairment and lower limb paresis. The patient loses use of his legs, arms, sight, and stops swallowing
- Huntington's Chorea - Prevents the muscles responsible for chewing and swallowing from working together. It is difficult for a sick person to keep food on his tongue properly. The tongue no longer obeys "commands" properly and when the patient wants to swallow, he cannot
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - almost all patients with bulbar form suffer from drooling due to difficulty swallowing saliva and discrete bilateral supranuclear paresis of the muscles of the lower face
Stroke
Sudden damage to nerve tissue, such as after a stroke or injury to the head or spinal cord, can lead to swallowing problems.
Oropharyngeal inflammation
Swallowing disorders may occur in the course of mycosis and other inflammations of the mouth, throat or esophagus.
Other diseases
General diseases such as
- rheumatic inflammationjoints
- diabetes
giving you neuropathy, may make swallowing difficult. Other medical conditions that can lead to swallowing problems include:
- esophageal reflux
- mild narrowing of the esophagus (achalasia)
- iron deficiency
- functional diseases of the esophagus on the background of emotional disorders, neurosis
- pressure from the outside by the goiter of the thyroid gland, enlarged lymph nodes, extremely rarely significant degree of degenerative changes of the cervical spine
- consciousness disorders (unconscious patients, delirium syndrome)
- stuck in the esophagus of a foreign body (fragment of a dental bridge, bone)
Swallowing disorders can be caused by various types of damage to the central nervous system or to the structures of the mouth, pharynx and larynx.
Swallowing disorders: breakdown of causes in the table
| oral dysphagia | pharyngeal dysphagia | esophageal dysphagia |
|
|
|
Swallowing problems (dysphagia) in children
Babies born with neurological problems, such as cerebral palsy and autonomic disorders, may have difficulty swallowing. Congenital or acquired anatomical changes, such as tracheoesophageal fistulas or cricoid fistulas, can also cause dysphagia.
Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): symptoms
Ailments that patients most often complain about are: ²
- food retention in the mouth and throat
- difficulty in initiating swallowing
- food extended in time
- weight loss
- choking duringeating
- cough, which may cause increased secretions in the respiratory tract, inflammation of the airways or even pneumonia
- searing retrosternal pain
- belching, heartburn
- drooling, rushing, vomiting
- symptoms worsening when lying down
- easier to swallow solid food than liquid
Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): what tests?
Among the tests performed in the case of swallowing disorders, the most information is provided byvideofluoroscopy , which allows you to observe the dynamics of swallowing, ranging from chewing and forming a food billet in the oral phase to movements of the base of the tongue and the side walls of the throat in the pharyngeal phase. Ultrasound also helps to assess tongue movements in the oropharyngeal phase of swallowing. Other methods that help diagnose dysphagia include oesophageal manometry, pH-measurement, and electromyography using intraluminar or hook electrodes to study the pharyngeal muscles.
Swallowing disorders (dysphagia): treatment
Treatment depends on the cause of your swallowing problems. For example, if the cause is gastroesophageal reflux disease, antacids are given. Exercise is helpful in all cases, incl. those consisting in preventing the retention and getting into the respiratory tract of food content.
About the author
Monika Majewska A journalist specializing in he alth issues, especially in the areas of medicine, he alth protection and he althy eating. Author of news, guides, interviews with experts and reports. Participant of the largest Polish National Medical Conference "Polish woman in Europe", organized by the "Journalists for He alth" Association, as well as specialist workshops and seminars for journalists organized by the Association.
Read more articles by this author