Patients can at times experience difficulty in chewing and swallowing foods. When a patient has a problem in any part of the swallowing body system, he or she can develop this condition described as dysphagia. The major sign of the condition is choking when eating. A patient needs to be assessed for this condition and if the results are positive a dysphagia diet is recommended. This is to avoid any complications or risks to the patient's condition.
Before any assessment of the condition is done on a patient, some steps need to be taken. The condition of the patient needs to be ideal for results to give an accurate assessment. The patient needs to be conscious, seated in a good posture and the oral motor function should be right. He or she should also be in a position to cooperate with the assessor. Once the patient is ready, the assessment can be done. It is important that the patient's ability to swallow liquids and solids is assessed separately. If no difficulty is experienced by the patient, he or she can receive a normal diet with close monitoring of their respiratory and oral intake.
There are several signs that are common with this condition. They usually indicate difficulty in chewing and swallowing. They include leakage from the mouth, coughing, loss of breath, choking and a poor quality of voice after swallowing. Some patients, however, develop aspiration silently and it may take time before it is detected.
The condition is usually common with recent stroke patients. When left undetected, other risks can complicate a patient's condition such as malnutrition, pneumonia, and persistent disability. The patient can also have a prolonged stay at the hospital. In the extreme cases, death can result.
A qualified personnel is highly recommended to carry out the assessment. It should not be left to caregivers or nurses to determine the severity of the condition in a patient. They should be the ones to offer the patient the necessary support after instructions are given to them on the do's and don't.
During the assessment, the observations and the results need to be documented in the patient's chart. The patient's tolerance to various food textures and the kind of assistance he or she may require should be recommended. Other things that can be added include the recommended posture during a meal and the amount of food to be given.
The diet aims at providing the patients with foods that they can eat and swallow without any difficulty. The patients then get the required nutrient intake and this helps them get better quickly. Any complication from food intolerance is avoided.
The diet is divided into five stages. In each stage, a particular food texture is described according to the severity of the condition. The first stage includes foods that have a pudding consistency and texture. The second stage has foods that are minced into sesame seeds sizes. In the third stage, grounded foods are given. These are foods that are the size of rice. The fourth stage describes foods that are in the size of small bread cubes and the final stage has normal soft and moist foods with the regular texture.
Before any assessment of the condition is done on a patient, some steps need to be taken. The condition of the patient needs to be ideal for results to give an accurate assessment. The patient needs to be conscious, seated in a good posture and the oral motor function should be right. He or she should also be in a position to cooperate with the assessor. Once the patient is ready, the assessment can be done. It is important that the patient's ability to swallow liquids and solids is assessed separately. If no difficulty is experienced by the patient, he or she can receive a normal diet with close monitoring of their respiratory and oral intake.
There are several signs that are common with this condition. They usually indicate difficulty in chewing and swallowing. They include leakage from the mouth, coughing, loss of breath, choking and a poor quality of voice after swallowing. Some patients, however, develop aspiration silently and it may take time before it is detected.
The condition is usually common with recent stroke patients. When left undetected, other risks can complicate a patient's condition such as malnutrition, pneumonia, and persistent disability. The patient can also have a prolonged stay at the hospital. In the extreme cases, death can result.
A qualified personnel is highly recommended to carry out the assessment. It should not be left to caregivers or nurses to determine the severity of the condition in a patient. They should be the ones to offer the patient the necessary support after instructions are given to them on the do's and don't.
During the assessment, the observations and the results need to be documented in the patient's chart. The patient's tolerance to various food textures and the kind of assistance he or she may require should be recommended. Other things that can be added include the recommended posture during a meal and the amount of food to be given.
The diet aims at providing the patients with foods that they can eat and swallow without any difficulty. The patients then get the required nutrient intake and this helps them get better quickly. Any complication from food intolerance is avoided.
The diet is divided into five stages. In each stage, a particular food texture is described according to the severity of the condition. The first stage includes foods that have a pudding consistency and texture. The second stage has foods that are minced into sesame seeds sizes. In the third stage, grounded foods are given. These are foods that are the size of rice. The fourth stage describes foods that are in the size of small bread cubes and the final stage has normal soft and moist foods with the regular texture.
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