Difficulty in swallowing without pain is called dysphagia. People with dysphagia subjectively express a feeling of discomfort. A stinging sensation occurs behind the breastbone as swallowed solid or sometimes liquid food descends. Sometimes there may be an inability to swallow at all.
Dysphagia usually occurs due to organic pathologies or mechanical pathologies in the throat and esophagus. Rarely, dysphagia may occur due to psychological reasons.
The feeling of pain while swallowing is called odynophagia. Odynophagia indicates mucosal inflammation in the area.
Symptoms accompanied by dysphagia
The most common symptoms in people with swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) are summarized below:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Excessive expulsion from the mouth
- Facial flushing or flushing
- Watering eyes
- Remaining food residue in the mouth after swallowing
- While eating or after eating
- Long eating time
- Coming of food from the nose
- Excessive mouth movement
- Vomiting or gagging
- Chest pain, feeling of food being stuck
- Back pain
- Changes in lung sounds
- Copious secretions flowing from the mouth
- Change in respiratory rate
- Weight loss
- Dehydration
- Frequent chest infections
- Difficulty breathing
- Audible breathing
- Coughing while eating or after eating
- Change of sound quality
- Fever after eating
- Do not swallow each bite 2-3 times
Dysphagia is an important condition with serious consequences. The simplest is that with social isolation, patients feel shame. Anxiety and adaptation problems increase social isolation. In addition, physical discomfort while eating can have life-threatening consequences due to general restlessness and malnutrition, dehydration, and silent aspiration. Over time, dysphagia can also cause symptoms such as weight loss and recurrent chest infections.
Important:
If you have had difficulty swallowing for a while and have other symptoms, consult your doctor immediately. With early intervention, you can get rid of the complications of dysphagia and possible neoplastic diseases with early diagnosis and treatment.
Causes of dysphagia
Dysphagia can be divided into two classes as those caused by causes affecting the mouth and pharynx and those caused by causes affecting the esophagus. Since some systemic diseases can affect both sides, the most common causes of dysphagia are summarized below.
- Neurological causes
- Cerebrovascular events (stroke)
- Movement and neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s disease)
- Alzheimer’s and dementia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Multiple sclerosis
- Tardive dyskinesia
- Myasthenia gravis (May cause loss of tongue and esophageal functions)
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
- Infections
- Lyme
- Viral encephalitis
- Syphilis
- Postpolymyelitis syndrome
- Polyneuropathies (Gullain-Barre Syndrome)
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Progressive supranuclear palsy (Huntington’s Disease)
- Myopathies
- Hypothyroidism
- Hyperthyroidism
- Cushing’s syndrome
- Neoplasms and primary brain tumors
- Iatrogenic causes
- Side effects of drugs
- Post-operative complications
- Post-radiation irritation
- Mechanical causes
- Anomalies related to bone structure in the neck
- Goiter
- Neoplasms
- Zenker’s diverticulum
- Laryngeal webs
- Esophageal webs
- Lower esophageal ring (Schatzki ring)
- lower esophageal sphincter spasm
- Inflammatory strictures
- Caustic strictures
- Foreign bodies
- Congenital anomalies
- Reflux
- Achalasia
- Amyloidosis
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
- Scleroderma
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Crohn’s disease
- Mouth and throat tumors
- Congenital anatomical disorders
- After neck spine surgery
- Tracheostomy
- Nasogastric tube
- Infections
- Pharyngitis
- tonsillitis
- Epiglottitis
- Abscess
- Parasitic infections (Chagas disease)
- Fungal infections (Candidiasis)
Dysphagia is a condition that needs to be treated depending on the underlying cause. Therefore, consult your doctor. Dysphagia is treated as a rehabilitation program that must be organized by a large team.