What is Dysphagia?
Dysphagia pronounced dis-FAH-juh, is the medical name for swallowing difficulties. This type of difficulty usually occurs due to an underlying condition such as stroke, head injury, learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease or head and neck cancer.
Swallowing becomes difficult for a person with Dysphagia because the muscles used fir chewing and swallowing because weak or uncoordinated. As a result, food and drink can go into the lungs instead of the stomach often knows as ‘going down the wrong way’.
The signs of Dysphagia
Identify symptoms early and act! Symptoms can include:
- Drooling or excessive saliva
- Difficulty chewing
- Painful swallowing
- Coughing or chocking during swallowing
- Clearing throat regularly
- Impaired breathing during mealtimes
- Avoiding eating while in the company of others
- Taking a long time to eat or struggling to finish meals
- Avoiding or playing with food
- Needing help to eat or drink
Thickeners and thickening ONS
Thickeners and thickening ONS is a quick reference regarding thickener prescribing (which may be required for people with diagnosed dysphagia to reduce risk of aspiration). Resource ThickenUp Clear continues to be the first-choice thickener in Hertfordshire and Nutilis Clear is the first-choice thickener in West Essex. For those who also have malnutrition, pre-thickened ONS is likely to be more reliable than thickening standard ONS.
Click here to download the document
Dessert Style Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS): Position Statement
Dessert Style Oral Nutritional Supplements – Position Statement makes it clear for prescribers and others that ONS dessert type products are not appropriate for prescription due to their consistency (not in line with IDDSI), and lack of cost effectiveness (lower in nutrition and higher in price compared to comparable size liquid ONS).
Click here to download the document
Nestle – 20 Minute Safety Briefing sessions
Nestle, a leader in the field of nutritional science offers individual 20-minute virtual safety briefing sessions for care homes. These sessions include:
- A brief overview of Dysphagia and how to safely mix thickened drinks using RTUC.
- How to upskill, change behaviours and give staff more confidence around Dysphagia Management.
All attendees are provided with a certificate after the session.
» Click here to visit their website for more information
» Click here for the Nestle complete guide to Dysphagia
Contacts for support
HCPA Provider Hub – assistance@hcpa.co.uk
Directly contact Territory Manager – Carina.Taylor@uk.nestle.com or call 07795886844
Request a rep through our Nestle N PLUS Hub – www.nplushub.co.uk
Useful Resources
| Resource name | Resource description | Resource link |
|---|---|---|
| What is IDDSI? | Poster to explain the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative | Click here |
| What is the IDDSI Framework? Leaflet/poster | Patient leaflet/poster which can be personalised for use in records/kitchen. | Click here |
| Patient handout - level 0 thin | Patient handout - level 0 thin | Click here |
| Patient handout - level 1 Slightly Thick | Patient handout - level 1 Slightly Thick | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 2 Mildly Thick | Patient handout - Level 2 Mildly Thick | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 3 Moderately Thick | Patient handout - Level 3 Moderately Thick | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 3 Liquidised | Patient handout - Level 3 Liquidised | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 4 Extremely Thick | Patient handout - Level 4 Extremely Thick | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 4 Pureed | Patient handout - Level 4 Pureed | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 5 Minced & Moist | Patient handout - Level 5 Minced & Moist | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 6 Soft & bite sized | Patient handout - Level 6 Soft & bite sized | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 7 Easy chew | Patient handout - Level 7 Easy chew | Click here |
| Patient handout - Level 7 Regular | Patient handout - Level 7 Regular | Click here |
| 20 minute safety briefing on Dysphagia and Thickened Drinks - recording | Nestle, a leader in the field of nutritional science offers individual 20-minute virtual safety briefing sessions for care homes. This is a recording of a 20 minute session. | Click here |
| 20 minute safety briefing on Dysphagia and Thickened Drinks - slides | Nestle, a leader in the field of nutritional science offers individual 20-minute virtual safety briefing sessions for care homes. This is the slides for one of the 20 minute session.s | Click here |
| What is the IDDSI Framework? Webinar recording | Link to webinar on YouTube to explain IDDSI. | Click here |
| Food & Drinks Classification & Testing | An introductory overview of the purpose and development of IDDSI. This webinar explores each of the eight levels of the texture continuum and provides practical information on how to perform the testing methods, next steps to further your knowledge on IDDSI, and get started on implementation. | Click here |