Dysphagia means difficulty swallowing. The condition is associated with pain or generally taking longer to process food from the mouth to the stomach. A proper diagnosis must be based on symptoms that show difficulty with the act of swallowing solid or liquid foods. In severe instances, swallowing is impossible.
Pharyngeal dysphagia is often caused by a neurological disorder that affects the nerves, such as Parkinson's disease and stroke, which affects the patient's throat.
Esophageal dysphagia occurs in the esophagus due to a blockage or irritation. Surgery is often required to fix the issue in these instances.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders data indicates that 50 sets of muscles and nerves are used in swallowing. Because of the complexity of this seemingly simple action, several complications could lead to difficulty swallowing.
Causes of dysphagia include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable disease that causes progressive neurodegeneration. Over time, the nerves in the spine and brain cannot process their tasks and lose function. This could lead to a stroke because brain cells die due to a lack of oxygen when blood flow is reduced. If the stroke affects the part of the brain that controls swallowing, it may result in dysphagia.
When the lower esophageal muscle does not loosen up enough to permit food into the stomach, also known as Achalasia, such obstruction can cause difficulty swallowing. Achalasia can increase the risk of esophageal cancer, a type of cancer occurring in the esophagus, usually associated with either alcohol or smoking, which could cause dysphagia.
Multiple sclerosis, a disease that destroys the nerve protector myelin by attacking the central nervous system with the body's immune system, could cause dysphagia. It may also occur through another autoimmune disorder called Goldflam disease, caused by the loss of voluntary control of the muscles, especially those that stimulate swallowing.
Cancer patients, especially patients who received radiotherapy to the neck and head area, and people with cleft lip and palate issues due to an incomplete fusion of bones in the head, are susceptible to swallowing difficulties and total dysphagia.
Diffuse spasm, a condition caused by strong compressions of the esophagus, which affects the involuntary muscles in the walls of the lower esophagus, could produce a narrowed esophagus stricture and prevent large pieces of food from entering the stomach. This often results in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which in turn causes tumors or scar tissues and can lead to dysphagia.
Dysphagia could also occur when there is not enough saliva to keep the mouth wet, a condition known as xerostomia, and could affect the patient's digestive capabilities.
Symptoms of dysphagia include suffocation during eating, drooling, acid reflux, hoarseness of the voice, regurgitation of food, unintentional weight loss, intermittent heartburn, feeling of food getting lodged in the throat, chest, or behind the breastbone, problem getting food to stay in the mouth, difficulty commencing the swallowing procedure, persistent pneumonia, and incapacity to regulate saliva in the mouth.
