When you have a congestion for a few days, you may wonder how you ever took breathing for granted and you may have trouble remembering how it actually felt to breathe without discomfort. It’s the same thing with eating. Healthy people rarely think about the act of putting food in their mouth, chewing and swallowing while using the muscles in their jaw, tongue, cheeks and lips. It just seems effortless.
For children with dysphagia, however, eating is like trying to breathe with congestion. These kids struggle to swallow both liquid and solids, making eating and drinking uncomfortable, anxiety-provoking, and even dangerous. Imagine Pediatrics understands that dysphagia can be present at birth or can happen suddenly at any age; in children, it can be particularly alarming. We’re here to explain what dysphagia is and how it can be alleviated.
There are three types of dysphagia in children:
- Oral Dysphagia: When your child is struggling to control food or liquid with their mouth, lips, or tongue
- Pharyngeal Dysphagia: Indicates that the problem can be found in the throat when swallowing
- Oropharyngeal Dysphagia: As the name suggests, this is a combination of issues with both the mouth/lips/tongue and the throat when swallowing. It is attributed to weakened throat muscles that cannot transition food from the mouth to the throat, and finally to the esophagus.
Causes of Dysphagia
Dysphagia affects over 500,000 otherwise healthy children between the ages of 3 and 17 each year.
Dysphagia is considered a symptom caused by a larger problem. Most often in children, dysphagia is symptom of a neurological disorder, such as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy. It could also result from a brain or spinal cord injury that caused neurological damage. Dysphagia may also be a result of certain head or neck cancers or cancer treatments.
Symptoms and Complications of Dysphagia
Depending on the age of your child, they may not have the language to let you know that something is wrong when they are eating or drinking. Parents and caregivers may notice that something is wrong, but are unaware that it is a medical issue requiring professional intervention. Some even chalk it up to “picky eating.”
The most common signs of dysphagia in children are:
- Drooling
- Choking often while eating
- Coughing or gagging often when swallowing
- Regurgitation – bringing food back up
- Difficulty in gulping
When these meal time experiences become a common occurrence, your child will begin to avoid eating and drinking. You may notice that they are storing food in their mouths instead of swallowing. They may prolong meal time with painfully slow eating out of caution. When dysphagia is severe enough, they may refuse meals altogether – which results in weight loss, malnutrition and dehydration.
Dysphagia also causes frequent pneumonia. Dysphagia allows food and liquid to enter the airways, inflaming the air sacs in the lungs and promoting infection.
Dysphagia Treatment
After evaluation and diagnosis by our Imagine Pediatrics speech-language pathologist (SLP), you will be given options and recommendations for treatment based on the severity of the case.
Your SLP may recommend a combination of occupational therapy and speech-language pathology that focuses on more efficient eating. They will work with your child to develop the muscles and increase the range of motion and coordination of the jaw, cheeks, mouth, lips, and tongue. They will help develop strategies to eat certain foods that have proven the most difficult for your child. Our therapists will also work with your child to ease the anxiety that has developed around eating.
In time, your child will learn to eat and drink without choking, becoming able to relax and enjoy mealtime. They will learn strategies to handle any feelings of anxiety that may creep up on them and techniques to use if they begin to feel a choking sensation. Your child will be taught exercises to perform regularly, continuing to strengthen the muscles around their mouth and throat.
Make Meal Time Fun and Safe Again
Dysphagia is not preventable and can cause serious complications in your child’s physical and mental health. When you notice your child choking, gagging, “pocketing” food in their cheek or having difficulty or refusing to swallow or eat, call Imagine Pediatrics at 773-373-3333 or email us. We will be happy to evaluate your child quickly and accurately and begin treatment as soon as possible.
