It is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have difficulties swallowing. Also known as dysphagia, problems with swallowing can pose choking dangers or lead to aspiration pneumonia (where food or liquid goes into the lungs and causes infection). On the other hand, these problems can be so subtle that many people don’t even notice them, except when they occasionally gag on a bite of food or have a coughing fit when trying to swallow a pill. Regardless of how severe your dysphagia might be, it is important that those of us with MS who may have swallowing problems review our habits around eating and see if we can create new (and safer) habits.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 23:55:28 +0000