Summary
Nigel Perrett will forever be grateful to Rockhampton Hospital speech pathologists for helping him overcome swallowing difficulties.
Mr Perrett suffered a stroke in August last year and worked hard with a team of speech pathologists including Kiara McKay in his recovery, rebuilding his swallowing muscles.
Wednesday, March 19, is Swallowing Awareness Day, raising awareness in the community about an issue most of us don’t even think about.
Before his stroke, Mr Perrett took swallowing for granted.
“To lose it is terrible … a really horrible feeling. Your whole life revolves around eating and drinking and when you can’t, you feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself,” he said.
Speech pathologists modified his diet and organised thickened fluids so that he was able to meet his nutritional requirements without food or fluids going into his lungs.
He found it difficult fighting cravings, and especially missed a normal cup of coffee - finding thickened coffee an “acquired taste”.
Central Queensland Health’s Advanced Clinical Lead for Speech Pathology Bree Tomkins says swallowing is essential to everyday life. People swallow between 500-700 times a day, around three times an hour during sleep, once per minute while awake and even more during meals.
“Swallowing problems can happen to people of any age, including children or babies, people with breathing difficulties, or people who have had a stroke,” Bree said.
People who have trouble swallowing are at risk of choking, poor nutrition and dehydration, and babies and children with difficulty feeding may not take in enough nutrients to support growth and brain development.
“Swallowing is a huge part of a speech pathologist’s work. It has such a big impact on people.”
Speech pathologists can do many things to help people overcome swallowing difficulties, including considering different options to compensate and learn to live with the issue, recommending thickened fluids and a modified diet, or rebuilding and strengthening swallowing muscles in the face, mouth and throat.
“When you have difficulty swallowing, it can take over your whole life, but not a lot of people are aware this can happen,” Bree said.
Anyone with a swallowing difficulty should talk to their GP about getting a referral to a speech pathologist.