A patient recently told me they've been having some problems swallowing lately. What can cause this? Swallowing is a pretty complex body function. It starts in the oral phase, when food is moistened ...

An older adult’s swallowing function is associated with lower social interaction levels, a new study finds. People with swallowing problems who lived at home laughed less than those without swallowing ...

My stepmother, Sophie Brody, thought she had a tumor. Whenever she ate solid food, it seemed to stick in her chest and not go down. The symptom is called dysphagia, difficulty swallowing, and it is a ...

The 4 stages of dysphagia range from mild to severe, but no single, universally accepted scale exists. Dysphagia refers to difficulty swallowing. It occurs when there is a disruption in one or more ...

Heartburn, accompanied by a burning sensation in the chest or throat when swallowing, may be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic condition in which stomach acid frequently ...

Eosinophilic esophagitis involves swelling of the esophagus. This inflammation may cause difficulty swallowing, stunted growth in children, and abdominal pain. Eosinophilic esophagitis is an allergic ...

A patient works on tongue exercises at the UC College of Medicine’s Dysphagia Rehabilitation Laboratory. The majority of stroke survivors — up to three-quarters, according to some studies — experience ...

With an ageing population, cancer cases are on the rise. Currently, nearly one in two of us will be diagnosed with the disease in our lifetimes. Whether it’s through your own ca ...