What
should
Caregivers
Watch
For?
In some patients, there is no outward signor symptom of a swallowing problem. However, other patients give clear signals that they are having difficulty swallowing. Most common signs of a swallowing problem include:
coughing
while
eating
or
drinking
or
very
soon
after
eating
or
drinking;
wet
sounding
voice
during
or
after
eating;
increased
congestion
in
the
chest
after
eating
or
drinking;
slow
eating;
multiple
swallows
on
a
single
mouthful
of
food;
obvious
extra
effort
or
difficulty
while
chewing
or
swallowing;
fatigue
or
shortness
of
breath
while
eating;
temperature
rise
30
minutes
to
an
hour
after
eating;
weight
loss
associated
with
increased
slowness
in
eating;
repetitive
pneumonias;
If you see any of these signs or symptoms of a swallowing problem, you should bring it to the attention of the patient's physician or seek a swallowing therapist, usually a speech-language pathologist, for evaluation.
