DEMENTIA, ALZHEIMERS AND DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING

Many late stage dementia and alzheimers sufferers have difficulty swallowing. This is mainly because they have forgotten how to swallow, or sometimes even how to chew.
The symptoms can be coughing whilst eating because sometimes the food goes down the wrong way and gets caught in the airways. It is essential that the caregiver is watchful for this, not only because of the risk of choking, but also because food can get lodged in the throat.
According to Bob De Marco of The Alzheimers Reading Rooms, if the food gets caught and trapped this can lead to Pulmonary Choking. This means the entry of food into the tract and lungs.
This can be fatal as it can lead to pneumonia. So caregivers need to be very watchful and if you suspect a swallowing problem use very soft or liquid food that is easy to swallow.

It is a lovely day in Paarl, but the temperature is dropping every day, especially overnight. We are all well and I continue to work on my book. I write about 1000 words per day, so my own dementia is not such a problem to me. It is not getting any worse. However, the slightly colder weather has brought aches into my knees. This is because of a very old injury, but there is no difficulty in walking.Boysie will want to swim today as he did yesterday, it needs to get much cooler before it will be too cold for him!
Keep taking the tablets.
David Barnato.
Paarl. South Africa