What would it be like to lose the ability to swallow safely and reliably?

Monday 6 March was European Swallowing Awareness Day, so Speech and Language Therapy staff including D4D Research Associate Lise Sproson at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals set about raising awareness of swallowing difficulties, also known as dysphagia.

Many patients can suffer from swallowing difficulties as a result of illness or surgery. Visitors to the stand were asked for their thoughts on what dysphagia means to them. Responses included:

“It was hard finding foods that my Gran liked AND could eat”

“Less choice at meal times”

“Fewer cups of tea!” 

D4D work on a variety of projects around the treatment and assessment of dysphagia – read more about our Aspirate project here, and the Ampcare ESP device that we’ve helped to develop here.