Contents
Food and Nutrition
Foods to be taken
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Foods which can be allowed during dysphagia include soft cooked vegetables, soft and canned fruits, bread, hot cereal, ready-to-eat cereal soaked in milk, canned fruit, soft cooked vegetables, juice, scrambled eggs, ground meat, cooked beans, cooked peas, cottage cheese, yogurt, custards, puddings, cream soups, cookies without nuts and noodles.
Foods to be avoided
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Avoid tough meats, nuts, seeds, sticky breads, tough chewy meats and hard vegetables
Yoga and Exercise
Swallow exercises which help for dysphagia include:
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Effortful Swallow
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Isokinetic (dynamic) Shaker
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Isometric (static) Shaker
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Jaw Thrust
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Lollipop Swallowing
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Massako Maneuver
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Mendelsohn Maneuver
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Supraglottic Maneuver
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Tongue Exercise
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Tongue Range of Motion
- Vocal Exercise
Home Remedies
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Maintain an upright position whenever eating or drinking
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Take small bites only 1/2 to 1 teaspoon at a time and eat slowly
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Avoid talking while eating
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When one side of the mouth is weak, place food into the stronger side of the mouth
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Try turning the head down, tucking the chin to the chest, and bending the body forward when swallowing. This often provides greater swallowing ease and helps prevent food from entering the airway
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Do not mix solid foods and liquids in the same mouthful and do not “wash foods down” with liquids, unless you have been instructed to do so by the therapist
- Following each meal, sit in an upright position for 30 to 45 minutes