20210815 : Swallowing
Every afternoon I struggle. I am fed some fluid (juice or soup or just warm water) orally. They give it in a small spoon, not full, just half spoons. It may be about 3-4ml each time. However, I am unable to swallow it. It invariably goes into the wind pipe, causing a violent cough and struggle and most days I am unable to withstand it and we stop after a few spoons. For an effective swallow, 1. The morsel of anything (called bolus) needs to be encapsulated and pushed back and down into the throat (pharynx) 2. At the same time, the nasal cavity is closed off to prevent stuff from going into the nose. 3. As the bolus comes down, the lungs have to hold the breath and vocal folds (or vocal chords) needs to close so as to close the wind pipe. 4. The epiglottis (another soft tongue like muscle) seals off the wind pipe fully. 5, the entrance to the food pipe (circular muscles called sphincter in the upper oesophageal cavity) needs to open up to allow the bolus to get in. 6. At this time, the