10 Dysphagia Symptoms
Article Sources
- 1. 'Articles.' Cedars, www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/d/dyphagia.html
- 2. 'Dysphagia.' Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 17 Oct. 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysphagia/symptoms-causes/syc-20372028.[](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysphagia/symptoms-causes/syc-20372028)
- 3. Ebihara, Satoru, et al. 'Dysphagia, Dystussia, and Aspiration Pneumonia in Elderly People.' Journal of Thoracic Disease, AME Publishing Company, Mar. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4805832/
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Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is a medical condition that can vary from a minor annoyance to an urgent emergency. While dysphagia itself might not be serious immediately, it can lead to more serious difficulties, like food getting into the lungs.1‘Articles.’ Cedars, www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/d/dyphagia.html
Dysphagia can have a number of causes, such as muscular and neurological disorders and esophageal diverticula or tumors.2‘Dysphagia.’ Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 17 Oct. 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysphagia/symptoms-causes/syc-20372028. If dysphagia persists, a doctor can help identify a cause. That's why it's important to recognize dysphagia symptoms and carefully track which appear and when they begin. This record can be an invaluable tool for a physician.
Inability To Swallow
This is the primary symptom that identifies dysphagia. Difficulty swallowing is immediately identifiable by the patient, although it may have widely varying intensities. Dysphagia might begin as a slight difficulty but, over time, develop to the point where the patient cannot swallow at all.
Although this symptom may seem obvious, it's sometimes dismissed by patients at first. Instead, patients should carefully note if difficulty swallowing has persisted for several hours or if it comes frequently. While it may not seem serious at first, its potential to develop into a more severe condition or cause other problems means that patients should take it seriously.
