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Friday, February 15, 2008

Swallowing Disorders

What are Swallowing Disorders?
Swallowing disorders - defined as difficulty in passing food or liquid from the mouth to the stomach - occur in all age groups, but especially in the elderly. The disorders can occur at any stage of the normal swallowing process, in which food and liquid move from the mouth, through the pharynx, into the esophagus, and finally, into the stomach. The disorders are common in individuals with degenerative neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), postpolio syndrome, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease, and may be the first symptom of the disease. They may also occur after sudden neurological damage as in stroke, or head or spinal cord injury, or indicate other problems, such as the presence of cancer or heart problems. People with swallowing disorders may suffer from weight loss or dehydration and may be at risk for developing pneumonia. Some individuals notice that the disorders get worse at times of stress or excitement.
Is there any treatment?
Drug therapy, including botulinum toxin injection, may provide relief to some individuals with swallowing disorders. Surgery may also be needed in severely affected persons. Many individuals can be helped by changing their diets and learning new feeding techniques, for example, positioning the head and neck in a certain way to help in swallowing.
What is the prognosis?
While in many cases, swallowing disorders can be partially or completely corrected, in some cases they can be life-threatening and require aggressive interventions, such as feeding tubes. The prognosis for people with swallowing disorders that accompany other diseases depends upon the severity of those other diseases.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

My son 23 has been a victim of Chronic SCHIZENCEPHALY for many years. I am excited to share this testimony as i have been sad and confused for the past 23 years of my son been a victim of SCHIZENCEPHALY. Anti-psychotic medicine they induce psychosis, never helped rather worsened the situation, Homeopathy medication is good but has a lot of limitation too. I looked for solution everywhere all to no avail until I contacted a Herbal Doctor whose medicine works perfectly for him, my son situation has greatly improved which is what I have always wanted. If you have related problem, don't lose hope, contact him (ronniemd70@gmail.com)

Unknown said...

I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, that’s not why I am writing this post. My child six years ago, was born with Bi-lateral closed lip schizepcephaly, which is even more unique than the regular cases. Due to this disability, she also developed Cerebral Palsy affecting the left side of her body. We’ve learned the part of her brain which has been affected has also impaired her ability to reason. We’ve been lucky so far though it affects everyone differently and she had been on the very mild side of everything. Another thing we had to dealt with much are seizures. She was highly prone to having one or multiples and we’ve seemed to look out with some petite mals when she was younger and they occurred in her sleep more than any other time.
Luckily, everything seemed to be okay after she took an Herbal Medicine. I wish I could say that’s the end of it because she havn't had any symptoms since then.
Having a child with special needs is difficult. You sit living in fear of the reality your child may face, never really knowing what will happen until it does. Do not expose yourself to more danger, use a herbal remedy that is safe and effective. If interested contact him:
ronniemd70@gmail.com to find out more information about the disorder and treatment.