Dysphagia in the medical term for difficulty swallowing. Individuals with Parkinson’s disease may experience changes or difficulties with swallowing. These changes may occur at any point throughout the Parkinson’s journey but typically become more pronounced as the disease advances. Consistent with the effect of Parkinson’s on movements in other bodily regions, the disease impacts the muscles of the face, mouth, and throat that are vital for the act of swallowing.
Dysphagia can diminish the pleasure derived from eating, drinking, and social interaction, negatively impacting overall health, nutritional status, and quality of life. Furthermore, it can lead to food, liquid, or saliva entering into the lungs, a process known as aspiration. Recurrent aspiration episodes may result in aspiration pneumonia, a serious complication of Parkinson’s disease and the primary cause of death for individuals with Parkinson’s disease.
Causes and symptoms
In the same way that Parkinson’s causes slowness, rigidity, tremor, and difficulty with initiating
movement throughout the muscles in your body, it can do the same to the muscles involved in
swallowing. The phases of swallowing include the oral phase (food preparation/chewing), the
pharyngeal phase (moving food from the mouth to the esophagus), and esophageal phase
(movement of food to the stomach).
You may experience one or more of the following symptoms of swallowing problems at various
levels of severity:
● coughing or choking during and or after meals
● throat clearing throughout the day and/or increased during and/or after eating/drinking
● difficulty moving food or liquid from the front to the back of the mouth
● drooling
● increased time required to eat a meal
● feeling food sticking in the throat
● increased difficulty swallowing pills
● wet or gurgly voice quality on saliva and/or during or after eating/drinking
● weakened cough or throat clear
● unexplained weight loss
● changes in food preferences
● nasal regurgitation, when swallowed food or liquid enters the nose
High risk swallowing concern – Silent aspiration
Silent aspiration occurs when food or liquid (including your own saliva) enters the lungs without
any outward signs or symptoms, such as coughing. Silent aspiration can occur secondary to problems associated with the swallowing mechanism, such as decreased sensation, slowed
motor function, generalized weakness, decreased coordination, and weak or absent cough.
Symptoms of silent aspiration can include, but are not limited to, wet sounding voice when eating, or drinking, absence of coughing or throat clearing, chest congestion, fever, and pneumonia