I need more information on swallowing problems
Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) can feel frightening or overwhelming, whether you are experiencing them yourself or supporting someone who is. It’s completely normal to worry when eating or drinking becomes harder, or when someone coughs, splutters, or refuses food.
These moments can create anxiety and urgency, but swallowing changes have many possible other causes such as tiredness, illness, posture, environment, medication, teeth or dentures, or simply the effort it takes to eat and drink safely.
Taking a moment to pause and reflect on what might be making swallowing more difficult can help the situation feel more manageable. You don’t need to fix everything straight away. Breaking the problem into smaller pieces like how the person is sitting, what they’re eating, how alert they are, or what support they need, can make it easier to understand what is going on and choose what to try next.
Supporting information
Dysphagia means difficulty with swallowing. Dysphagia can happen if the swallowing muscles are weak or damaged, or if someone is less aware of what’s in their mouth.
Dysphagia can be caused by stroke or head injury, conditions like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, or motor neurone disease, some lung or respiratory problems, and frailty.
A person with dysphagia might:
- struggle to hold food or drink in their mouth
- have trouble chewing or moving food around
- find it hard to swallow at the right time
- not protect their airway properly when swallowing
- feel like food gets stuck or doesn’t go down easily
Swallowing problems can be serious. Food or drink might go “down the wrong way” into the lungs instead of the stomach, this is called aspiration, and it can lead to chest infections or pneumonia.
If not managed properly, dysphagia can also cause dehydration and malnutrition.
Recovery depends on the person and their condition. Your speech and language therapist (SLT) can explain what to expect and give advice.
- Coughing or choking when eating or drinking
- Wet or gurgled voice after swallowing
- Shortness of breath after swallowing
- Feeling like food is stuck
- Difficulty chewing
- Leftover food or drink in the mouth
- Avoiding certain foods or loss of appetite
- Losing weight
- Frequent chest infections
There are some conditions with specific needs for swallowing. Please use these links to explore further.
The strategies that follow are designed to support both the person eating or drinking and the people around them. They offer practical steps that can help make swallowing safer, calmer and more comfortable. Even small adjustments can make a big difference.
- Managing safer swallowing
- Strategies to reduce choking risk
- Food and drink texture changes
- High risk foods for people with swallowing difficulties
- Level 7: Easy to chew food
- Oral care guide for people with dysphagia
- Managing eating and drinking behaviours that might challenge
- Reflux
- Keeping a monitoring form
Further support
If you’ve already tried the tips above and you’re still having concerns about swallowing, a range of professionals can support you.
- Speech and language therapists (SLTs): assess swallowing and suggest changes to food and drinks to make swallowing safer and/or more comfortable. In some situations we can also provide rehabilitation support to improve swallowing function. If your swallowing is unsafe we may talk about whether other forms of nutrition or hydration should be considered, but this would only be done in partnership with the person having difficulties and their family.
- Dietitians: Help you maintain good nutrition and hydration, supporting if there are concerns about intake and weight loss.
- Physiotherapists: Support you to improve your posture, which can make swallowing safer.
- Occupational therapists: Suggest tools or techniques that make eating and drinking easier such as adaptive cutlery.
- Nurses and carers: Assist with mealtime support and oral hygiene.
- Pharmacists: Advise on alternatives if you find tablets hard to swallow.
