Swallow Safely: How Swallowing Problems Threaten the Elderly and Others. A Caregiver's Guide to Recognition, Treatment, and Prevention
An extremely useful and potentially life-saving book. --Christiane Northrup, M.D., Author ofMother-Daughter Wisdom: Understanding the Crucial Link Between Mothers, Daughters, and HealthDon't wait for a swallowing disaster. This book tells you how to keep a swallowing problem from becoming fatal. --Henry J. Heimlich, M.D., Author ofHeimlich's ManeuversWhat an eye-opener! Who knew a runny nose could actually be a clue to having a life-threatening swallowing problem? Easy to read and packed with lifesaving knowledge everyone should know. Especially valuable for families and caregivers of elders with dementia, who often develop swallowing problems. --Jacqueline Marcell, Author ofElder Rage, Host of Radio ShowCoping with CaregivingSwallowing is a four-step process that usually happens without conscious thought or deliberate physical effort, even though most people swallow approximately six hundred times a day. More than ten individual body parts are involved in swallowing, and muscular weakness or poor coordination during its four phases--preparatory, oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal--can ruin mealtime and put certain people at risk of dehydration, malnutrition, oxygen distress, choking, or pneumonia caused by the inadvertentaspirationof food or drink into the lungs. Patients, family members, and health care providers must be educated and alert for signals ofdysphagia, the medical term fordifficulty swallowing.Despite its seriousness, too few people know how to identify and treat dysphagia. The authors of this book, a wife and husband team, a speech-language pathologist and neurologist, respectively, have extensive expertise with dysphagic patients, and they have written a well-researched, informative guide for those caring for the elderly or the ill. The book's straightforward language and clear terminology are accompanied by sixteen well-labeled illustrations of the swallowing process. Each chapter ends with a summary of important terms and information for quick reference or review. The authors' comprehensive approach to this quality of life issue extends to their thoughtful decision to publish the book in large print that can be read comfortably by both elderly patients and their middle-aged or aging children and spouses.Swallowing difficulties are often overlooked because their symptoms may be relatively subtle and discounted or ignored. Patients [or caregivers] might not realize that a runny nose during meals, coughing, or excessively slow swallowing can indicate a potentially life-threatening problem with swallowing. The authors include many tips for careful eating that may help restore safety and pleasure to mealtimes. A thoughtful, pre-writtenLetter for Your Doctorlists swallowing problems and provides space to list hospitalizations, medical conditions, and medications.This book will save lives. --ForeWord ReviewsWhat an eye-opener! Who knew a runny nose could actually be a clue to having a life-threatening swallowing problem? Easy to read and packed with lifesaving knowledge everyone should know. Especially valuable for families and caregivers of elders with dementia, who often develop swallowing problems. --Jacqueline Marcell, Author ofElder Rage, Host of Radio ShowCoping with Caregiving