Study re: thickening liquids for dementia patients not helpful

Interesting. Thank you for posting this. DH has been on hospice prescribed nectar-thick liquids and pureed food for months since having a few aspiration incidents. For the record, he has Stage 7 ALZ and in June 2023 had a 'tiny' stroke in the region of speech/memory and swallowing. He also has CHF which is progressing and making him weaker.

Just this week he has begun having trouble drinking liquids. Not swallowing, but more like not being able to tilt his head back far enough to get the liquid into his mouth. He has had forward head posture for years. A straw would be a logical choice, but puts him at greater risk of aspiration. A sippy cup has been suggested, but he would still need to tilt his head back. They don't want to tilt him back in his Broda. The aides frequently make his liquids too thick. Letting him have thin liquids might make it easier to get the liquid into his mouth. He is drinking only about 1/4 of what he was two weeks ago, now about 12-16 oz. /day. I realize this is a risk/benefit trade-off. Any suggestions?

Thank you for the cup recommendation. I will try them.

Because he is in hospice care, he cannot have an evaluation by the speech therapist. We inquired about that when he first started aspirating.

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