Pediatric dysphagia is usually accompanied by a secondary condition. On rare occasions, pediatric dysphagia can present as a single disorder. Pediatric dysphagia presents with weight loss which can lead to malnutrition, failure to thrive due to lack of adequate nutrients to the brain, and serious illness due to vitamin deficiencies. Another type of pediatric dysphagia is expressive and receptive dysphagia which affects the child’s speech and language. Both types of pediatric dysphagia (feeding and receptive/expressive) are the onset of difficulties that could last into adulthood.
Pediatric dysphagia or swallowing disorder is common in children with almost 40% of developing children having at least one feeding disorder. Swallowing is a complex process that not only involves body nerves but also several muscles in the body. For a child to make a successful swallow, fifty pairs of muscles and six body nerves are involved and must be working efficiently. If anything comes short of this, children end up developing dysphagia disorder. Dysphagia can be dangerous in children because some may even have complications in swallowing liquids such as saliva and other light foods. In addition, children with dysphagia may develop pains when swallowing. So if a child is experiencing pain while swallowing, will they have the motivation to keep feeding? The fear of pain makes many children avoid feeding and thus presenting them with the risk of not having sufficient nutrients required in the body.
So when does dysphagia occur in children? Children develop the disorder when they miss one of the four phases of swallowing. The first two stages of swallowing are usually voluntary while the last two must occur involuntarily in their bodies. The first phase is usually the oral preparation phase or chewing which involves liquid and food preparation in the mouth. Some children may forfeit this first stage because mostly are usually given light foods and liquids such as milk. The second phase is called the oral phase where a child should use the tongue to push foods into the back of the mouth ready for the third phase. The third phase is known as the pharyngeal which involves the process of allowing food to flow into the esophagus. Lastly, the fourth phase involves allowing the food to flow smoothly through the esophagus into the stomach. All four phases are essential to induce a successful food or liquid swallow.
Signs and symptoms in children vary from one child to the other. However, one outstanding experience is that a child with the disorder cannot swallow food or drinks. Other symptoms that may occur as a result of the disorder vary with age. Infants and toddlers may experience different symptoms from children over three years. For instance, toddlers and infants, age as defined by WHO, may develop coughing, choking, excessive crying, vomiting, and weight loss if they have difficulties in swallowing. On the other hand, children above the age of three years may have symptoms like eating slowly, drooling, choking, different voices, and frequent experience of feeling like food is still stuck in the throat. Studies suggest that most parents, guardians, and caregivers have taken for granted the need to monitor these kinds of symptoms in their children. In fact, most think that these symptoms are normal and some are associated with putting too much food in the mouth. Today, they should be all grateful that this study has provided a whole list of the symptoms to help monitor the care for their children.
So what causes pediatric dysphagia in children? Various types of diseases and defects can cause the disorder. Some of which become present since birth and others that develop within the development phases. Some of the most common ones are vocal cord paralysis, cleft palate, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Dysphagia occurs when the gut is mostly affected by other diseases. For instance, it may occur when there is no adequate airway protection, a condition that can lead to food entering the respiratory system. To avoid causing eating anxieties in children, various measures and treatments can be taken to prevent and control the severity of the disorder. Some of the treatment methods may result in surgeries but there are other simpler and safer ways like therapy. Therapists can help victim children to develop the habit of balancing the lips, tongue, and jaw muscles to boost swallowing, help them to minimize oral and behavioral repugnance to foods among many more strategies. This study allows more observations to deepen the research on strategies to help the children with the disorder.
In conclusion, both pediatric feeding dysphagia and expressive receptive dysphagia were explored. Unlike expressive/receptive pediatric dysphagia feeding dysphagia has detrimental health risks including malnutrition, weightlessness, and vitamin deficiencies. Any type of dysphagia requires professional treatment and some will have better long-term outcomes than others.
References
Lefton-Greif, M. A., & Arvedson, J. C. (2016, November). Pediatric feeding/swallowing: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In Seminars in speech and language (Vol. 37, No. 04, pp. 298-309). Thieme Medical Publishers.
Malandraki, G. A., Roth, M., & Sheppard, J. J. (2014). Telepractice for pediatric dysphagia: A case study. International journal of telerehabilitation, 6(1), 3.
Martin, K. L., Arvedson, J. C., Bayer, M. L., Drolet, B. A., Chun, R., & Siegel, D. H. (2015). Risk of dysphagia and speech and language delay in PHACE syndrome. Pediatric Dermatology, 32(1), 64-69.
Myer IV, C. M., Howell, R. J., Cohen, A. P., Willging, J. P., & Ishman, S. L. (2016). A systematic review of patient-or proxy-reported validated instruments assessing pediatric dysphagia. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 154(5), 817-823.
Vijayakumar, K., Rockett, J., Ryan, M., Harris, R., Pitt, M., & Devile, C. (2012). Experience of using electromyography of the genioglossus in the investigation of paediatric dysphagia. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 54(12), 1127-1132.
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