Swallowing

[Junior2014]

My Dad has vascular dementia and has recently developed a problem with swallowing, he is already on a thick liquid diet but he is producing too much saliva, he has recently had a few choking episodes which can be really scary for him. Has any other members have any experience with this.
Irene

 

[AliceA]

Unfortunately yes, my husband did better on a non dairy diet, as for some it seems dairy can produce more mucus. This is not advice for all but might be worth exploring. Sometimes it seems we are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. I struggled to get nutritional advice.

 

[Grannie G]

It must be quite frightening when people with dementia choke on their saliva.

I know Alice above had this worry with her husband. My husband used to have really alarming sneezing fits when he was trying to swallow food but didn`t produce excess saliva.

Welcome to Dementia Talking Point @Irene Devine. I hope you get the support and answers you need from other members.

 

[Weasell]

I would request to see the speech and language team.
You could enquire about the patches that go behind the ears to reduce saliva.

 

[karaokePete]

Hello and welcome from me too @Irene Devine.

My wife recently developed serious coughing fits when eating some foods and she complained of a sticky fluid in her throat when this occurred. I started to be careful with the foods I gave her but then asked the GP for an inhaler in case of post nasal drip being present and complicating things. I also asked for a referral to the SALT team.

The inhaler seemed to help and I still await contact from the SALT team.

 

[AliceA]

I found the SALT visit at home very useful, it is a service that seems very difficult to get hold of, so do do keep trying.

 

[Junior2014]

Unfortunately yes, my husband did better on a non dairy diet, as for some it seems dairy can produce more mucus. This is not advice for all but might be worth exploring. Sometimes it seems we are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. I struggled to get nutritional advice.

Thank you

 

[Junior2014]

Thanks all for your replies, the SALT team has already seen him and put him on the thick liquid diet/ He is in a care home and the staff spoke about the patches for behind the ear, this is all very new to our family as he seemed to deteriorate very quickly. He is also blind and cannot walk so you can imagine how helpless we feel not being able to do anything for him at the moment. But it's good to know there are people out there who understand.
Irene