MODULE 2: CAREGIVERS, FAMILIES AND PEOPLE WITH DYSPHAGIA

• Choke: It is the sensation that food is stuck in your throat or chest and it partially prevent air from getting into lungs. It persist breath and start the coughing to eliminate this estrange particle.

How is an airway choke treated?

It is advisable to encourage the person to cough until the element is expelled. It should be avoid drink liquids, eat food or back blows because the foreign object could be fall into airway.

• Obstruction: An airway obstruction is a blockage in any part of the airway due to a food or foreign object. An obstruction may totally prevent air from getting into lungs that It would be life threatening emergencies that require immediate medical attention.

How is an airway obstruction treated?

Call national health emergency phone number and start with The Heimlich maneuver. This is an emergency technique that may help a person who is choking on a foreign object. 

Figure 5. The Heimlich maneuver (Source: CADIS Huesca)		Go Video: The Heimlich maneuver (Howcast, 2012)

Respiratory infections: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infections of parts of the body involved in breathing, such as the sinuses, throat, airways or lungs. Respiratory infections as pneumonia need obligatory treatment.  People with dysphagia commonly develop  aspiration pneumonias. This occurs when food, saliva, liquids or vomit is ingressed into the lungs or airways leading to the lungs, instead of being swallowed into the esophagus and stomach. All of these things may carry bacteria that affect lungs. The 52% of patients with dysphagia suffer from aspiration.

Figure 6. Aspiration pneumonia (Source: designed by Canva Pro)