Dysphagia - Woman drinking a glass of water

Dysphagia


Dysphagia is the term used to describe a difficulty with swallowing foods and liquids. Dysphagia may occur when a disease or it's treatment affects the muscles or nerves needed to swallow.

A significant proportion of stroke patients experience dysphagia1. It can also be associated with conditions like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.2

Dysphagia affects around half of all patients who have had a stroke1


Dysphagia can impact on a person's ability to consume adequate nutrition for a number of reasons, including:

  • The time taken to eat meals increases
  • Self-restriction due fear of choking
  • Loss of enjoyment and the social aspect of eating
  • A dislike for texture modified food and fluids

As a result of these nutritional challenges, people who experience dysphagia can find it hard to get the nutrition they need, and malnutrition and dehydration can occur.

Our products are pre-thickened or designed to thicken foods and fluids to make them easier to swallow


How medical nutrition can help

Good nutrition is important to avoid malnutrition and dehydration. Providing a variety of foods that have an appetising appearance and including additional energy, protein, vitamins and minerals where possible can help to optimise nutritional intake. Providing a range of hot and cold drinks throughout the day can help to prevent dehydration.

Ensuring food and fluids are the correct texture is essential in the management of dysphagia. Food and fluid thickeners can be used to thicken drinks and pureed meals to the recommended consistency that has been prescribed by the speech and language therapist (SLT).

Healthcare professionals may prescribe pre-thickened oral nutritional supplements for those with dysphagia who cannot get adequate nutrition from diet alone. They come in a range of flavours and provide additional energy, protein, vitamins and minerals.

48% of people with dysphagia are malnourished3

References

  1. Martino R, Foley N, Bhogal S, et al. Dysphagia after storke: incidense, diagnosis and pulonary complications. Stroke. 2005;36:2756-63
  2. RCSLT. RCSLT resource manual for commissioning and planning services of slcn: Dysphagia. 2014. Accessed via http://www.rcslt.org/speech_and_language_therapy/commissioning/dysphagia_manual_072014
  3. Felt P.Nutritional management of dysphagia in the healthcare setting. Healthcare Cateres international. 2006;1:11-43

      *IDDSI = International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative

Resources

Visit our Resource Centre for a wide range of professional resources to support you and your patients.

Products

Find out about Nutricia’s wide range of specialised nutritional products.

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Nutricia's commitment to nutrition in Dysphagia

At Nutricia we want to improve the lives of patients and carers living with Dysphagia by providing solutions for safe, nutritious and enjoyable meal times.

Nutilis Clear

Find out more about our dysphagia range with Nutilis Clear, our gum-based thickener for food & drinks.

Evidence behind Nutilis Clear

Read about the Triple S study, published in the Journal of Neurogastroenterology & Motility, which found unique evidence of the impact of Nutilis Clear on safe swallowing in dysphagia patients.

Nutilis Clear Care Home Education Programme

Nutricia has developed a free Care Home Education Programme to support care home staff understand the role of thickener in dysphagia, and how to safely make Nutilis Clear and IDDSI* levels.

Nutilis Pre-thickened range

The Nutilis pre-thickened range has been developed specifically for patients with disease related malnutrition and dysphagia.

Screening for Malnutrition

Further support on screening for Malnutrition, including our Screening for Malnutrition e-learning which is coming soon.

Learning the fundamentals of Dysphagia using Nutilis Clear

Nutricia has a free educational tool covering the fundamentals of dysphagia using Nutilis Clear.


Do you have a question?

Contact our team of experts for guidance on the use and composition of our product range, for support with queries regarding your Nutricia account and sampling service or to get in touch with your local Nutricia representative. We are available Monday to Thursday 9am-5pm and Friday 9am-4pm (except Bank Holidays)

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  • • Our free Sampling Service to order product samples and have them sent to your patients' homes.
  • • A range of CPD accredited e-learning programmes.
  • • Order free paper copies of our support tools for yourself or to use with your patients.
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