It's tough to swallow: a practical approach to nutritional care of dysphagia.
Have you ever swallowed a food or liquid only to have it "go down the wrong way"? If you have, then you have an idea of what it might be like to have a swallowing problem. Now multiply that experience times the more than 600 times a day that we normally swallow! Imagine how difficult it would be to deal with that on a daily basis. Approximately 6-15 million Americans are affected by dysplagia (chewing and swallowing problems). About 53-74% of nursing home residents, 14% of hospital patients and 33% of rehabilitation center patients have some form of dysphagia, which can have a dramatic impact on nutritional status.
Becky
B
Dorner
D000368:Aged; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000451:nursing*; D004046:Dietetics / Q000379:methods*; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008612:Menu Planning; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011015:Pneumonia, Aspiration / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control