English for Nurses

 

Lesson 9: Dysphagia

Listen to the audio of the following terms.

chew
choke
dysphagia
heartburn
liquids
lose weight
manage
pureed
soft food
solid food
Speech and Language Therapist
to swallow
swallowing
thickened fluids
stick to the back of the throat
get stuck

 

Medical  prefixes:  dys-

The prefix ‘dys-‘ means ‘difficult’ of difficulty
There are many terms which use the prefix ‘dys-‘ For example,

dysphagia                                                       difficulty swallowing   ( -phagia = eat)
dyspnoea (dyspnea US)                                difficulty breathing  (-pnoea/-pnea = breathing)
dysphasia                                                       difficulty speaking e.g. after a stroke (-phasia = speaking)

 

Vocabulary:
There are several different words which are used to describe the profession of Speech Pathology’
Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) is used in the UK
Speech Pathologist (SP) in Australia
Speech-Language Pathologist in the USA

 

Words relating to eating

Activity 1: Match the terms on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

1.chew	a) food which is not liquid
2.swallow	b) burning pain in the chest after eating
3.soft food	c) use the teeth to make food softer in the mouth
4.solid food	d) any fluids which people can drink
5.liquids	e) food which is soft and does not need to be chewed
6.heart burn	f)   liquids which are thick enough so a person doesn’t choke
7.thickened fluids	g)  food which had been mixed together like a thick soup
8.pureed	h)   pass food from the mouth to the stomach   Note: the word 'pureed' comes from the French so it has a different pronunciation.

 

Activity 2: Complete the information about chewing and swallowing.
 

choking                soft food              swallow               chew                    stomach               throat
 

First, food enters the mouth. You (1) ___________ the food to make it into a soft ball called a bolus so it is easier to swallow.

Some patients may need to have (2) _________ if they are not able to chew well e.g. because they have problems with their

teeth.

Next, the tongue helps to move food towards the back of the (3)_____________ or pharynx. The food needs to be in small

pieces or it is too difficult to (4) _____________.

Finally, you swallow the food. It moves down the back of the throat into the oesophagus. The epiglottis, a small flap at the

bottom of the throat, closes over before the food moves towards the (5) ______________. This is to stop food accidentally going

into the trachea and lungs. This is called (6)______________ or aspiration.

 

 

Activity 3: Label the following pictures.

a   Chew the food

b    Move the food to the back of the throat

c     Swallow the food

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            
 

 

 

 

(1) __________________                                       (2) ______________________                                   (3) _____________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activity 4 : Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ8_KsEscJM. Answer the questions that follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Mrs Windsor is having difficulty _________________.

a   eating

b   drinking

c    swallowing

2.  What kind of food can she manage?
a   liquids

b   soft food

c    solid food

3. Mrs Windsor says that when she swallows, it’s _______________.
a   painful

b   painless

c   uncomfortable

 

4. Has Mrs Windsor had any weight loss lately?

a  No, she still weighs the same.

b  Yes, but she’s only lost a little bit of weight.

c  Yes, she’s lost a lot of weight lately.

5. What does the nurse say she’ll bring for Mrs Windsor to try?
a   free fluids

b   thickened fluids

c   liquids

 

Activity 5:  Put the notes of the video in the correct order.

1. difficulty swallowing?

2. where food gets stuck?

3. lost weight?

4. check swallow reflex

5. heartburn with dysphagia?

6. bring thickened fluids

7. solids more difficult to swallow than liquids?

 

Activity 6: Match the beginnings to the ends of the questions. Then watch the video again to check your answers.

 

Do you have difficulty	a)        get stuck?
Is swallowing	b)        with the dysphagia?
So, it’s more difficult	c)        lost weight lately?
Where does the food	d)        swallowing?
Do you get any heartburn	e)        painful?
Have you	f)         to swallow solids than liquids?

 

 

 

Activity 7: Homework - Complete the dialogue and record it.

Nurse: I’d like to check your __________reflex, Mrs Windsor. You seem to cough a lot when you are eating.
 

Patient:  Yes, I am having quite a few problems eating at the moment.
 

Nurse:  Do you have difficulty _________________?
 

Patient:  Yes. I can only manage soft food.
 

Nurse: So, it’s more difficult to swallow ____________ than liquids. Is that right?
 

Patient:  Yes. I can’t eat anything which isn’t soft. I have a lot of yoghurt and soups.
 

Nurse: Is swallowing __________________?
 

Patient:  Not really painful just uncomfortable. If I don’t eat soft food it feels as though it’s getting _______________  and won’t go down. It makes me feel like being sick.
 

Nurse: That’s not very good at all. It must be very unpleasant for you. Where does the food get stuck?
 

Patient:  It seems to get stuck at the back of my ______________. I’m not sure how far down it is.
 

Nurse: OK. Do you get any _____________________with the dysphagia?
 

Patient:  No. It just seems to be hard to swallow anything. I can’t eat much at all.
 

Nurse: Have you lost __________________ lately?
 

Patient:  Yes, I’ve lost a lot of weight. Around 6 kilos in a couple of weeks.
 

Nurse:  All right, I see. I’ll try you with some liquids in a little while. I’ll bring some ______________ fluids for you to try to see if you can manage them.