Swallowing Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

If you have a swallowing disorder, you may have difficulty or pain when swallowing. Some people cannot swallow at all. Others may have trouble swallowing liquids, foods, or saliva. This makes it hard to eat. Often, it can be difficult to take in enough calories and fluids to nourish your body.

Anyone can have a swallowing disorder, but it is more common in older adults. It often happens because of other conditions, including:

• Nervous system disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and cerebral palsy
• Problems with your esophagus, including GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
• Stroke
• Head or spinal cord injury
• Cancer of the head, neck, or esophagus

Medicines can help some people, while others may need surgery. Swallowing treatment with a speech-language pathologist can help. You may find it helpful to change your diet or hold your head or neck in a certain way when you eat. In very serious cases, people may need feeding tubes.

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Start Here

• Dysphagia (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Dysphagia (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Dysphagia (Difficulty Swallowing) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Swallowing Disorders (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Barium Swallow (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Dysphagia Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Tailored Barium Swallow Study (National Jewish Health)
• Understanding Esophageal Manometry (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy) Also in Spanish
• Upper GI Endoscopy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Swallowing Problems (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Globus (International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders)

Specifics

• Oromandibular Dystonia (Dystonia Medical Research Foundation)
• Trouble Swallowing After Stroke (Dysphagia) (American Stroke Association)

Genetics

• Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

• Swallowing (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Deglutition Disorders (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus consensus on management of...
• Article: The effect and mechanism of motor imagery based on action observation...
• Article: Preventing radiation-induced dysphagia and trismus in head and neck cancer-A randomized...
• Swallowing Disorders -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Your Digestive System and How It Works (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• Find an ENT (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Patient Handouts

• Esophageal manometry (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Painful swallowing (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Swallowing difficulty (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Swallowing problems (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish