Electrical Stimulation and its Effects

on Patients with Dysphagia

 

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Impact on Daily Lives and Communication

Dysphagia can have a wide range of impacts on the geriatric patient. The patient runs a high risk if aspiration, which means food and liquids can easily slip into the lungs when swallowing. The elderly may also become fatigued with the effort it takes to eat, therefore causing malnutrition and dehydration (Shoemaker, 1996). As a consequence of aspiration the patient may also experience;
airway obstruction
distress syndrome
drowning
suffocation
bronchial hyperactivity
chemical pneumonitis
depression
chronic fibrosis
pulmonary infections
sitophobia
social withdrawal
(Brown, n.d.)