Dysphagia or Difficulty swallowing means it takes more time and effort to move food from your mouth to stomach. It is usually associated with pain.
Symptoms:
- Odynophagia (pain during swallowing).
- Sensation of food getting stuck in the throat or chest or behind your breast bone.
- Frequent heart burn.
- Unexpected weight loss.
- Having food or stomach acid back up into your throat.
- Coughing or gagging when swallowing.
Causes:
- Achalasia
- Esophageal stricture
- Esophageal tumours
- Foreign bodies
- Esophageal ring
- GERD
- Scleroderma
- Pharyngeal diverticle
- Cancer
Tests:
- Endoscopy: This procedure helps the doctor to visualize the interior of the esophagus
- Biopsy: The tissue sample is collected and sent for laboratical findings to differentiate the extent of damage and to exclude any malignancies.
Statistics:
Swallowing problems affect 1 in 25 adults, annually. A relative minority seek health care for their swallowing problem, even though the subjective impact and associated workdays lost with the swallowing problem are significant.