Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
F
frauja Asked July 2013

What to do when the person can no longer swallow and coughs when given puree food or liquids with thickener?

My father has dementia and Parkinson since 1 year he has beens bed ridden. He can no longer 1. feed himself 2. hold anything 3. turn himself. and relies on me for all movement . Now for the last 2 days he is unable to swallow when given his usual puree foods and thickened liquids. He is able to chew but can't swallow and ends up coughing everything up.

kathyt1 Jul 2013
The muscles in the mouth and throat harden. He can't get the food and saliva to the back of his throat, so he coughs and chokes. Speech therapy can strengthen the muscles, and teach your Dad how to swallow. When the coughing and choking happens to my Dad, I remind him to tilt his chin up,or i gently do it. It stops the coughing cold.

Hospice sounds like a good idea.

vw9729 Jul 2013
I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. In my opinion, I definitely would contact his doctor and and see about getting him on hospice. His body is shutting down. They can help you keep him more comfortable as he makes this decline. Our area had a hospice that had a facility similar to a hospital, but much nicer with 24 hour care just for this. Visitors can come anytime, day or night, and the nurses were always up-to-date on their progress. You may want to see if there is a hospice in your area like this. ((HUGS))

ADVERTISEMENT


vstefans Jul 2013
See if they can adjust meds at all to allow him better function. If not, you could keep him alive with a feeding tube, or decide to jus let him take what he can and inquire about hospice. Sorry it is all trending downhill so fast. Meds may help a lot, at least for a little while....

Marara Jul 2013
My mom did that for a while the nurses called it "pouching" I would think it means the body is slowing down. Sorry you need to deal with all this... but you do what you can... Tkae care...Mara

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter