not swallowing all his water

Marie58

DH is bedbound. We raise his hospital bed up when he eats and drinks. Yesterday and today, when given water which he drinks through a straw, some of the water came back out running down his chin. He takes longer to eat now and chews and chews every bite, as if he's eating a tough piece of meat, no matter what it is. Is this the beginning of swallowing issues? Do we need to thicken his water? I did a little research and there seems to be pros and cons to this.  Any insights would be helpful. Thanks and blessings everyone!

Battlebuddy

Yes it is the beginning of swallowing issues. My husband is in the same spot. But he drinks some and then swishes the water around in his mouth but can’t swallow it. He also chews and chews. I just began thickening a little here and there but I’m of two minds about it. One school of thought is to use thickener. The other is to let them have the satisfaction of quenching their thirst with regular water. Want him to enjoy eating and drinking as long as possible.

Jo C.

My LO also began to experience swallowing changes.  I had the doctor order a swallow evaluation to be sure of what was happening.  It really is valuable to have that.  It is done in an outpatient setting in radiology and is conducted by a Speech Therapist.  Nothing is invasive; the person sits upright on a guerney and a flouroscope is in front of the patient; the person is given sips of water, and small amounts of applesauce or pudding and a bite or two of cracker. The therapist can observe inside the mouth with tongue action and all swallow dynamics from top to bottom of the swallow mechanism in real time and can see what the actual problem point is.  I have observed that and it is fascinating.

The therapist can then see where the problem is and can prescribe needed dietary changes.  For my LO, it was thickener and all food pureed.  Throat exercises were also prescribed and it actually helped a bit for a period of time until that too finally failed.

The danger is; aspiration.  There is also "silent aspiration: where there is no coughing or choking, but the substance is aspirated anyway and this can often lead to aspiration pneumonia.

J.

Marie58

Jo, that evaluation sounds great but DH is bed bound, unable to walk. I don't see him leaving his MC facility for something like this. I wonder if it can be done there. Have you ever heard of that? Is the equipment portable?

JDancer

Ask for a speech therapy swallow study. It won't be as precise as one done with fluoroscopy, but they can determine the safest textures for food and liquids. There are also techniques to swallow more safely. Your LO probably won't remember the suggestions and techniques, so try to be present for the evaluation, or get the results from MC staff