Word parts
What it means
Trouble moving food, liquid or pills from the mouth down to the stomach. The person may cough or choke while eating, feel food stick in the throat or chest, drool, or have a wet, gurgly voice after swallowing. It is common after a stroke and in diseases of the nerves and muscles, and also comes from narrowing or tumors of the esophagusih-SOF-uh-gusThe muscular tube that carries food and liquid from the throat to the stomach.esophag/o esophagusFull entry .
For the nurse
Clients with dysphagia are at risk for choking and aspirationas-puh-RAY-shunBreathing food, liquid, saliva or stomach contents into the airway and lungs; also, drawing fluid out with suction or a needle.Full entry . Keep them upright during meals and for 30 minutes after, give small bites, and follow the diet and liquid thickness the speech-language pathologist orders. Check swallowing before giving anything by mouth to a client after a stroke, and check that pills may be crushed before crushing them.
In a chart
"Client coughs with thin liquids; speech therapy recommends mildly thick liquids and chin tuck."
Remember it
Phag means eat (think of a phagocyte "eating" germs); dysphagia is difficult eating and swallowing.
At a glance
| Everyday words | trouble swallowing |
|---|---|
| Spanish | disfagia |
| Also written | dysphagic |
Easy to confuse with
dysphasia
Difficulty speaking or understanding spoken or written language, caused by damage to the brain.
Related terms
dys-
A word beginning that means difficult, painful or not working normally.
aspiration
Breathing food, liquid, saliva or stomach contents into the airway and lungs; also, drawing fluid out with suction or a needle.
esophagus
The muscular tube that carries food and liquid from the throat to the stomach.