Milky drinks, tea and coffee

[MaddyS]

Hubby tends to cough up most of these. He loves his tea. Does anyone have a suggestion of how to prevent the coughing? We are using thick and easy.

Thanks in advance - maddy

[riosenior]

I would suggest you get a referral by your GP to see a Speech and Languaage Therapist. They also cover assessment etc of swallowing and choking problems so will be able to give you the best advice

[Hidden]

I would definitely see your speech and language therapist. She can not only suggest alternative thickeners which disperse better but let you trial one of these non return valved straw:

amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BBD3ACK/...

They are out of stock on Amazon at the moment but I ordered them direct from the really useful company. There are other places if you google in one way valved straws etc.They do vary in price but from really useful they were about £1 per straw and it was free post and they came very quickly. The straws last about 2-3 weeks of continual use and wash out well. Just make sure you rinse between every single use to avoid the ball getting stuck when using thickeners or they won't work properly.Mum got on well with these when sucking got tricky and had more chance of swallowing without choking when she wasn't have to use all her energy in sucking. Straws worked really well for mum but not everyone gets on with them. Anything is worth a try. Not nice when you can't enjoy a cup of tea etc! Having said all this milk is notorious for causing a sticky throat so that is possibly the key to your issues. Good luck, Dianne x

[ultramodern]

Bonjour Maddys---as Dianex said, milk thickens up the mucous so for the cough I'd suggest adding a spoon of honey (liquid preferably) and a slice, or squirt, of lemon to your cuppa chai instead of milk. Also good advice about the speech therapist...ours used to get my wife to do lots of exercises using a straw and a glass of thick water. best,ULTRAMODERN.

[jimandsharynp]

We stopped thickener. We found that reinforcing "SMALL SIPS" and "DRINK SLOWLY" worked for us. Still issues from time to time but overall it's working for us. Also We always use a straw.

Jimbo

[cabbagecottage]

a straw

[cabbagecottage]

A was having dreadful trouble with mucus collection in throat once in bed but the pharmacist suggested Robitussin I give it before he goes to bed and BINGO

[jimandsharynp]

Hi, I've heard that milk causes mucus to build up in the mouth. Our neurologist suggested staying away from milk and milk products as much as possible for that reason. Perhaps someone else could confirm this.

Jimbo

[MaddyS]

Thank you all for your suggestions which are much appreciated. I have ordered the straws and hope that they will help. I will also contact the speech therapist who was very helpful in the past. In addition We have an appointment with the neuro in November. Thanks again.

Maddy

[LizzieF]

Hi Maddy. My mum never needed thickener in any hot drinks curiously. The SALT was always mystified by this. Milky drinks like Ovaltine and hot chocolate were fine. We didn't have any choking at all! As time has gone on though, her swallowing ability has got worse to the point where she cannot swallow at all. Also she has dreadful excess saliva for which she wears a Hyoscine patch behind her ear. Everyone is different and you need to use your gut instinct on what is best for your hubby.

Best wishes

Liz x