Swallowing and Eating

Swallowing and feeding disorders can occur in children and aduts. For children, feeding disorders include problems gathering food and getting ready to suck, chew, or swallow it; and include picky eating and avoidance of food textures and flavors. For adults, several diseases, conditions, or surgical interventions can result in swallowing problems.

Swallowing disorders, also called dysphagia (dis-FAY-juh), can occur at different stages in the swallowing process:

• Oral phase: sucking, chewing, and moving food or liquid into the throat
• Pharyngeal phase: starting the swallow, squeezing food down the throat, and closing off the airway to prevent food or liquid from entering the airway (aspiration) or to prevent choking
• Esophageal phase: relaxing and tightening the openings at the top and bottom of the feeding tube in the throat (esophagus) and squeezing food through the esophagus into the stomach

NOTE: Children with feeding and swallowing problems have a wide variety of symptoms. Not all signs and symptoms are present in every child.

The following are signs and symptoms of feeding and swallowing problems in very young children:

• Arching or stiffening of the body during feeding
• Irritability or lack of alertness during feeding
• Refusing food or liquid
• Failure to accept different textures of food (e.g., only pureed foods or crunchy cereals)
• Long feeding times (e.g., more than 30 minutes)
• Difficulty chewing
• Difficulty breast feeding
• Coughing or gagging during meals
• Excessive drooling or food/liquid coming out of the mouth or nose
• Difficulty coordinating breathing with eating and drinking
• Increased stuffiness during meals
• Gurgly, hoarse, or breathy voice quality
• Frequent spitting up or vomiting
• Recurring pneumonia or respiratory infections
• Less than normal weight gain or growth

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Feeding and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) in Children

​Adults may show these general signs of dysphagia:

• Coughing during or right after eating or drinking
• Wet or gurgly sounding voice during or after eating or drinking
• Extra effort or time needed to chew or swallow
• Food or liquid leaking from the mouth or getting stuck in the mouth
• Recurring pneumonia or chest congestion after eating
• Weight loss or dehydration from not being able to eat enough

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Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) in Adults