Coughing, Choking, Trouble Swallowing? There May Be Help for You!

What is dysphagia?                      

Have you noticed that you are experiencing new difficulty with coughing, choking or changes in your voice quality when you eat or drink or take your medications?

Difficulty swallowing is referred to as “dysphagia.”  Symptoms such as these, among others, are red flags indicating that food/drink might be entering the airway (called “aspiration”).   Food/liquid entering the airway can result in a particular kind of pneumonia called aspiration pneumonia.

There are many reasons why this can occur and frequently there are exercises people can do to strengthen musculature  and/or strategies people can learn to improve swallowing and reduce the risk of aspiration.

If recommended by your doctor, a speech pathologist can evaluate and make individual-specific recommendations to reduce the difficulty and the risk of aspiration.

Ask your doctor for a referral or call Marcia Akeson, M.A., CCC/SLP, certified and licensed speech-language pathologist, at Progressive Rehabilitation at the Mercy Medical Plaza for more information:  319 339-3611.