Need to Know
Persons with Difficulty Swallowing (Dysphagia)
Some of the most common causes of dysphagia are:
- Stroke or brain injury
- Serious dementia (such as advanced Alzheimer’s disease)
- Cerebral palsy
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
- Muscular dystrophy
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Facial and tongue weakness
- Poor head control
- Head and neck cancer
- Injury to the throat and jaw
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GRD)
- Tumors, inflammation or spasm of the esophagus
- Scleroderma
Signs of Dysphagia
Any of these signs can mean a person has dysphagia.
- A wet sounding voice
- Change in voice
- A weak uncontrolled cough
- Gagging, coughing or choking on food
- Drooling
- Taking a long time to swallow a single mouthful of food
- Pain when swallowing
- Food or liquids come back up though the throat, mouth, or nose after swallowing
- Pain or pressure in the chest, called heartburn
- Pocketing of food in the mouth
- Slow, weak or uncoordinated speech