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Swallowing Disorders
Swallowing disorders, or dysphagia, interfere with one's ability to swallow comfortably and safely. These conditions can stem from neurological disorders, obstructions, or muscle dysfunction, significantly impacting nutrition and quality of life.
Specific Conditions:
Swallowing Difficulties: Also known as dysphagia, is the difficulty of passing food or drink from the mouth to the ‘gullet’ or oesophagus and stomach. These issues could be muscle dysfunction. These symptoms usually settle on their own but if they do not improve please consult an ENT specialist.
Persistent Throat Sensation (Globus): This is a common presentation when patients have the sensation of something stuck in the throat when there is no physical or structural obstruction. This can be a result of recent sore throat or illness, reflux symptoms, muscle tension, irritants such as smoking or vaping and occasionally stress and anxiety.
Pharyngeal Dysphagia: Difficulty in the throat phase of swallowing, often resulting from neurological diseases, injury or obstructions.
We will arrange diagnostic tests like endoscopic swallow evaluations with our specialist speech and language colleagues and barium swallow studies, alongside personalised therapy strategies ranging from dietary modifications to surgical interventions.
What is a barium swallow scan?
This is a type of X-ray test that uses a chalky liquid called barium to examine your upper digestive tract. This includes your throat, oesophagus (food pipe), and the upper part of your stomach. During the test, you will drink the barium, which coats your digestive tract and makes it easier to see on X-ray images. The radiologist will then take a series of X-rays as you swallow the barium and as it moves through your digestive tract.
What lifestyle changes can make to improve my persistent reflux symptoms?
Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is a condition where stomach juices flows back into the throat and voice box, causing irritation. Making some lifestyle changes can help manage LPR symptoms:
Eat smaller, more frequent meals to avoid overloading the stomach.
Avoid trigger foods like spicy, fatty, or acidic foods (e.g., citrus, tomatoes, chocolate, caffeine).
Don't eat before bedtime—try to finish eating at least 2-3 hours before lying down.
Sleep with your head elevated—use extra pillows to raise your upper body while sleeping.
Quit smoking—smoking can worsen reflux and irritate the throat.
Maintain a healthy weight—excess weight can put pressure on the stomach and worsen reflux.
Wear loose-fitting clothes—tight clothing around the waist can increase reflux.
These changes can help reduce symptoms and prevent irritation in the throat and voice box.
What medication can I take for my reflux symptoms?
Apart from lifestyle adjustments some medication which may help are antireflux medication in the form of proton pump inhibitors (omeprazole, lansoprazole, esomeprazole) and/or alginates. Proton pump inhibitors reduce the production of acid in the stomach. Alginates create a 'foam barrier' on top of the gastric contents preventing irritation to oesophagus and throat. In conjunction with lifestyle chages, these will improve symptoms. If symptoms do not improve, we would suggest a comprehensive gastoenterology review with an oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD).
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