Education & Information

Understanding Dysphagia & Swallowing Disorders

What is Dysphagia?

Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing. It can affect any stage of the swallowing process and can range from mild discomfort to complete inability to swallow safely. Dysphagia can lead to serious complications including malnutrition, dehydration, and aspiration pneumonia.

Signs & Symptoms

Coughing or choking during meals
Food or liquid "going down the wrong pipe"
Wet or gurgly voice after eating
Difficulty chewing
Food sticking in throat
Pain while swallowing
Unexplained weight loss
Recurrent pneumonia

Risk Populations

Stroke survivors
Parkinson's disease
ALS / Motor Neuron Disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Dementia / Alzheimer's
Head & neck cancer
Traumatic brain injury
GERD / reflux disease

Understanding FEES vs MBSS

There are two gold-standard instrumental assessments for evaluating swallowing function. Both provide valuable information that clinical bedside evaluation alone cannot.

FEES

MBSS

Location

Portable - home, clinic, facility

Hospital radiology

Radiation

None

Yes - fluoroscopy

Food Used

Patient's real food

Barium-coated foods

Time Limit