Why do I choke when eating

Children's digestive systems are not fully developed yet. When eating, if they eat too quickly, they will often choke. However, as they grow older, their organs develop fully and their eating habits improve, so the possibility of choking decreases. If they still choke when eating after adulthood, you need to think about the cause of this phenomenon and be alert to the possibility of throat diseases.

1. Why do elderly people always choke when eating?

You may choke when drinking water or eating. If this happens frequently, you should be very vigilant. If it does not happen often, then it is nothing to worry about. As the elderly get older, it may be caused by the degeneration of their chewing function.

If the elderly easily choke when drinking water or have difficulty chewing food, they may have swallowing disorders. The chewing and swallowing functions will gradually deteriorate with age, especially for the elderly who have diseases such as stroke, cognitive impairment, and missing teeth, which will make swallowing more difficult.

When the elderly develop swallowing difficulties, it is not easy for them to expel foreign objects through coughing. Bedridden elderly people are more likely to develop aspiration pneumonia due to repeated choking and coughing, which poses a fatal risk.

Therefore, the elderly must maintain the correct eating posture when eating. When eating, take small sips and eat slowly, and drink liquid food slowly; swallow each mouthful of food twice, make sure the food in your mouth is completely swallowed before taking the next bite; do not talk with food in your mouth. A good dining environment, mental state, and dining method are important conditions for safe dining.

For the deterioration of swallowing function caused simply by aging, swallowing training is an important part. Speech therapist Wang Xuepei suggests making the following adjustments to help the elderly swallow food more safely.

2. How can the elderly eat without choking?

Doctors pointed out that it is not easy for the elderly to expel foreign objects through coughing after they develop swallowing difficulties. Bedridden elderly people are more likely to develop aspiration pneumonia due to repeated choking and coughing, which poses a fatal risk.

Therefore, the elderly must maintain the correct eating posture when eating. When eating, take small sips and eat slowly, and drink liquid food slowly; swallow each mouthful of food twice, make sure the food in your mouth is completely swallowed before taking the next bite; do not talk with food in your mouth. A good dining environment, mental state, and dining method are important conditions for safe dining.

For the deterioration of swallowing function caused simply by aging, swallowing training is an important part. Speech therapist Wang Xuepei suggests making the following adjustments to help the elderly swallow food more safely.

1. Adjust the way you swallow

Change the direction of food flow through different postures. Lowering your head to swallow can protect the trachea and prevent food or liquid from flowing into the throat too quickly, making eating safer. People who are bedridden for a long time need to raise the head of the bed 90 degrees before eating.

2. Adjust the speed and amount of eating

Swallowing in small sips can reduce the amount of food remaining in the throat. Swallow each mouthful several times and clear your throat after swallowing to ensure that you swallow cleanly to avoid any food or medicine residue. If you choke easily when using a straw, you can use a spoon or a slanted cup instead to control the amount you eat.

3. Adjust the texture of food

To increase the viscosity of the liquid, you can add thickeners or starch to water or soup to make it thicker, reduce the flow rate of the liquid, and prevent it from flowing into the respiratory tract too quickly. Don't eat hard food to avoid it getting stuck in your throat.

3. Why do elderly people easily choke when eating?

When eating, food lumps completely block the trachea or glottis and cause suffocation or severe coughing. This is choking, which is also one of the common causes of sudden death in the elderly.

reason:

1. Systemic diseases and diseases of various organ systems, such as gastric cancer and other tumors, chronic heart failure, chronic bronchitis, anemia, uremia, senile mental illness, etc.;

2. Apathetic syndrome caused by diffuse organic lesions of the brain;

3. Disorders of smell and taste;

4. Senile depression with signs of loneliness;

5. Elderly people who live alone due to physical and intellectual disabilities;

6. The laryngeal muscles relax, and the epiglottis cannot completely close the throat when swallowing. Rice grains or soup irritate the trachea, causing choking and coughing.

Clinical manifestations:

1. Sudden inability to speak and a painful expression of suffocation;

2. Patients usually press their hands on their neck or chest and put their fingers in their mouths;

3. Partial airway obstruction may cause severe coughing with wheezing between coughs.

Therefore, when the elderly are eating, it is best to have a cup of warm water on hand. If they choke, they should drink the water immediately. It is safest to let others help them drink by themselves.