Speech pathologists at the Mount Isa Hospital are drawing attention to dysphagia, a diagnosis not often spoken about that more than one million Australians experience.

Mount Isa Hospital Speech Pathologist Sally Pether said many are unaware of how a difficulty with swallowing can be frightening and life threatening.

“Swallowing problems can mean food, drinks or saliva gets into the lungs which may cause lung infections, health complications and in severe cases, may lead to death,” she said.

“Swallowing problems can occur at any stage of life. Unfortunately, half of those who have had a stroke will have a swallowing problem and patients with Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis may also have swallowing difficulties.”

Swallowing disorders remain largely invisible and poorly understood by the general community.

“Sometimes those with undiagnosed difficulties are referred to other health practitioners, but as speech pathologists, we are the ones that can readily help patients by assessing and managing their condition,” Sally said.

“When we see patients, we will firstly make sure that the cheek muscles, tongue, lips and jaw are working well. We then observe the patient eating and drinking and are looking for any difficulties they may experience while trialling certain foods.

“In some cases, further testing and examination is required. Targeted exercises to strengthen swallowing muscles or recommendations for postural changes may be given to patients and ongoing management continues.”

During 2022, speech pathologists at Mount Isa Hospital saw 183 inpatients, with majority of cases being dysphagia-related.

If you are experiencing challenges with swallowing, you can engage with speech pathologists at the Mount Isa Hospital by visiting your local GP and obtaining a referral.