Swallowing disorders, which are called dysphagia, occur in children anywhere from the mouth down through the throat. Any type of swallowing problem has the potential to cause serious problems with your child's overall health and development. If you see any signs of dysphagia, consult your pediatrician immediately.
Definition
The swallowing process consists of three stages: oral, pharyngeal and esophageal. Dysphagia in children occurs at any stage. Difficulties during the oral phase interfere with sucking, chewing or moving food from the mouth into the throat. In the pharyngeal stage, children have a hard time getting food down the throat, or there may be a problem with closing off the airway, which allows food into the wrong "pipe." The esophagus is the part of the throat that connects to the stomach. At this stage, problems may arise with relaxing and tightening the opening into the stomach.
Symptoms
Many symptoms exist, but not every child will have all of them. Signs that appear during feeding include refusal to eat or drink, difficulty chewing, irritability, coughing, gagging or taking a long time to eat or drink. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association notes that feeding time that takes more than 30 minutes may signal a problem. Other symptoms include excessive drooling and food or drink coming back out of the mouth or nose. If your child seems to have a hard time coordinating breathing with feeding, or loses weight, consult your physician.
Treatment
Treatment varies depending on the cause and location of the problem. It may include medication, especially if acid reflux is part of the diagnosis. Your physician might also recommend changes in the type of food, postural or position adjustments to facilitate swallowing or behavior management techniques. Your child may be referred to a speech language therapist, a specialist trained to help improve chewing, sucking or drinking ability, strengthen mouth muscles and help children learn to tolerate different types of foods.
Complications
Children with dysphagia are at a higher risk for pneumonia and upper respiratory infections because food and liquids may go into the lungs. Lack of food and drink going into the stomach results in poor nutrition and dehydration. Toddlers and infants are especially susceptible to dehydration; it can happen quickly and become quite dangerous. If your infant goes more than six hours without a wet diaper, has dark urine or seems lethargic, he may be dehydrated, states BabyCenter.com. Toddlers who are dehydrated may have cold hands and feet, eyes that look sunken, dizziness or become excessively sleepy or fussy. If you notice signs of dehydration in your child, get medical help immediately.
Considerations
In some children, dysphagia may be temporary. Infants sometimes have trouble swallowing formula but improve when they can advance to solid foods. However, food should not be offered to infants from a spoon until they are at least 4 months old because they won't have the coordination to swallow from a spoon until then, states Children's Hospital Boston.
