Swallowing difficulties with food

Swallowing difficulties can have many causes. These include inflammation of the mouth and throat area, but also neurological diseases that no longer allow sufficient innervation and thus control of the muscles involved in the swallowing process. Further causes are diseases of the thyroid gland, psychological disorders, and of course diseases of the esophagus. Swallowing difficulties are mainly noticeable when eating and drinking and include both disturbances of food transport and pain when swallowing. In order to get to the bottom of the cause of swallowing difficulties while eating, medical advice is necessary in many cases, because as described above, many areas of medicine, be it ENT or neurological, can be responsible.

Therapy

Since swallowing difficulties can have many causes, it is important to find the actual trigger for the time being. Often a multi-factorial complaint scheme cannot be excluded. For chronic processes, such as diverticula, inflammation, or muscular changes, more invasive therapies must usually be chosen.There is often no way around surgery.

A speech therapist or a swallowing therapy can support the healing process. For the classic swallowing problems that occur in the course of a cold, however, there are many effective home remedies that promise quick relief. An acute cold is best treated with bed rest and plenty of warmth.

A scarf keeps the neck warm, hot chamomile tea sweetened with honey provides inner warmth. It is important that the tea is neither too cold nor too hot. As a guideline, you should not be able to drink the cup in one go, but you should also not burn your tongue.

If the swallowing difficulties prevent you from eating, you can also eat hot soup instead. Medicinal herbs such as sage or thyme also relieve pain and speed up the healing process. A likewise proven household remedy are the quark compresses.

To do this, you take standard quark, spread it about half a centimeter thick in a linen cloth and wrap it around your neck. The curd should be at room temperature and can remain on the neck for up to two hours. The procedure should be repeated once or twice a day.

However, as soon as the wrap becomes uncomfortable or too cold, it must be removed. Smokers should definitely stop smoking during the disease, because the ingredients of the cigarette cause local inflammation and constrict the blood vessels. This cools the throat and promotes inflammatory processes.

In addition to these home remedies, a visit to the family doctor or ENT specialist is unavoidable in some cases. Suspicious swelling over weeks, foreign body sensation, and pus should definitely be clarified by a doctor. Behind you can be inflammations, acute events such as a stroke, up to tumors. In these cases a cure with home remedies is not possible.