5. One of the sites includes a valuable ""Postural/Position Techniques" section" but I lost the URL; if I can find it, I 'll post later.
6. Excellent source with detailed information:
https://iddsi.org/
7. A few months ago when I'd search, I would be able to find specific charts, just charts and foods. It appears that dysphagia has become more prominent in the medical field, and assessments now are oriented more toward related issues then just providing menus.
I hope this helps. (I became a bit confused when switching to sites, some of which wouldn't post, so I've gone through this list twice, but I may have missed something. I'll again later though.)
Anna, I think the first issue is to determine the extent of your mother's swallowing challenges. If you know of a good speech pathologist, that would be a start. But typically, they either work for a hospital, or in a practice but not on their own (at least in my area). If you have a PCP in whom you have confidence, ask for suggestions. Hospitals in my area (and I'm sure other areas as well) have someone who can offer guidance and suggestions prior to making a physician selection. You might try to take that route to find a good speech pathologist.
The SP may perform a videoscopic swallowing study, an easy test in which your mother's eating functions would be highlighted, and areas of weakness identified. This would determine which level of dysphagia she may have. That in turn would determine which foods she can safely eat.
All Mom would have to do is sit as positioned near the machine, and swallow little bits of specific test foods (liquids, small crackers) to determine which can safely swallowed, or not. This helps define the level of dysphagia, and the type of food preparation or restriction.
There are dysphagia guidelines, listing at the time 3 levels of dysphagia ((for us, several years ago). Each requires a different level of caution with food. I don't recall each specific level; my charts are somewhere in piles of medical information to be filed.
You could probably find the charts by searching online. One of the best charts as I remember was prepared by a rehab center with a speech pathologist on staff.
There are foods that despite apparent harmlessness should not be eaten. There are also some tricks, such as using applesauce on otherwise verboten foods such as toast or cookies.
E.g., personally, I found pureeing meats worked better when I added gravy, but sometimes it too had to be thinned.
I hope you're able to find solutions to help both you and your mother.
My husband had to have all his drinks thickened with the product Thick It, and I had to pureed all his foods after he survived aspiration pneumonia. You can pureed any meats, vegetables, fruits etc. so that shouldn't be an issue at all, and you don't need any special recipes. Whatever your mother normally liked to eat, just pureed it, and she should be fine. As my husband improved some, I was eventually was able to just give him soft foods like mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, hotdogs, fish, soups etc. and I still made sure his meat was cut up small enough and was soft enough for him to eat without choking. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Just puree what she already likes. Best wishes.
The first thing is to figure out what she can eat. Does it need to be minced or pureed? Does she have a problem with thin liquids? It is possible that thin liquids may need to be thickened. Has this been brought to her doctors attention? Thickening thin liquids can go from "nectar" thick to pudding thick and everything in between. Is she choking? This can cause aspiration pneumonia and that can happen in a short time. Or is she "pocketing" foods? This is where a person will chew food then keep it in their cheeks. An assessment should be done to determine what the problem is and the safe way to present food. For about the last year of my Husbands life his meals were all pureed. A lot of soup (thickened with extra vegetables rather than a product like Thick It) And a lot of cereals like cream of wheat, cream of rice and I would also do oatmeal that I would grind before cooking so I guess you would call that cream of oats.
You do not mention a diagnosis but this is common with dementia. If this is the case with your mom... Sit with her when she eats. I would encourage a sip of a liquid with each bite. I used to then rub my husbands cheek to encourage him to swallow and to push any food that might be in the cheeks out. After a meal or snack I would then take a swab and run it around the inside of the cheeks and under the tongue. (Never put your fingers in the mouth)
Anna, welcome to the site! The first place to find information is by clicking on ‘Care Topics’ at the top right of the screen. You get an alphabetic list, so click on S for Swallowing and scroll down to find many old question and discussion threads, plus experts' articles on the subject. There are several sorts of problems, so this will also help you be clearer about what sort of Swallowing Problem this is. I’ve dealt with this, but there's no point in telling you about it as it's probably not your particular type. Best wishes, Margaret
1. This is a good site for information, and it includes tips given by our speech pathologists on head positioning for maximum security in swallowing:
https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/adult-dysphagia/#collapse_6
2. Good chart for quick reference:
https://dietitiansondemand.com/a-clinical-dietitians-guide-to-iddsi/
3. This site does provide more information on specific foods in various cateogries:
https://www.gicare.com/gi-health-resources/dysphagia-diet/
4. This site provides the format for which I had been searching, and even includes suggested meals:
https://www.gicare.com/gi-health-resources/dysphagia-diet/
5. One of the sites includes a valuable ""Postural/Position Techniques" section" but I lost the URL; if I can find it, I 'll post later.
6. Excellent source with detailed information:
https://iddsi.org/
7. A few months ago when I'd search, I would be able to find specific charts, just charts and foods. It appears that dysphagia has become more prominent in the medical field, and assessments now are oriented more toward related issues then just providing menus.
I hope this helps. (I became a bit confused when switching to sites, some of which wouldn't post, so I've gone through this list twice, but I may have missed something. I'll again later though.)
The SP may perform a videoscopic swallowing study, an easy test in which your mother's eating functions would be highlighted, and areas of weakness identified. This would determine which level of dysphagia she may have. That in turn would determine which foods she can safely eat.
All Mom would have to do is sit as positioned near the machine, and swallow little bits of specific test foods (liquids, small crackers) to determine which can safely swallowed, or not. This helps define the level of dysphagia, and the type of food preparation or restriction.
There are dysphagia guidelines, listing at the time 3 levels of dysphagia ((for us, several years ago). Each requires a different level of caution with food. I don't recall each specific level; my charts are somewhere in piles of medical information to be filed.
You could probably find the charts by searching online. One of the best charts as I remember was prepared by a rehab center with a speech pathologist on staff.
There are foods that despite apparent harmlessness should not be eaten. There are also some tricks, such as using applesauce on otherwise verboten foods such as toast or cookies.
E.g., personally, I found pureeing meats worked better when I added gravy, but sometimes it too had to be thinned.
I hope you're able to find solutions to help both you and your mother.
Whatever your mother normally liked to eat, just pureed it, and she should be fine.
As my husband improved some, I was eventually was able to just give him soft foods like mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, hotdogs, fish, soups etc. and I still made sure his meat was cut up small enough and was soft enough for him to eat without choking.
Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Just puree what she already likes. Best wishes.
Does she have a problem with thin liquids?
It is possible that thin liquids may need to be thickened.
Has this been brought to her doctors attention?
Thickening thin liquids can go from "nectar" thick to pudding thick and everything in between.
Is she choking? This can cause aspiration pneumonia and that can happen in a short time. Or is she "pocketing" foods? This is where a person will chew food then keep it in their cheeks.
An assessment should be done to determine what the problem is and the safe way to present food.
For about the last year of my Husbands life his meals were all pureed. A lot of soup (thickened with extra vegetables rather than a product like Thick It) And a lot of cereals like cream of wheat, cream of rice and I would also do oatmeal that I would grind before cooking so I guess you would call that cream of oats.
You do not mention a diagnosis but this is common with dementia. If this is the case with your mom...
Sit with her when she eats.
I would encourage a sip of a liquid with each bite.
I used to then rub my husbands cheek to encourage him to swallow and to push any food that might be in the cheeks out.
After a meal or snack I would then take a swab and run it around the inside of the cheeks and under the tongue. (Never put your fingers in the mouth)