aperation

[spindle58]

help with risk feeding aspiration pneumonia

[LuisRodicioRodicio]

Hi spindle58!

These are our experiences and informations:

A serious fall with serious consequences (hospitalization, surgical intervention, strong medication, etc.) as well as a serious illness (pneumonia, severe flu, etc.) are typical situations that can trigger a fatal process. It is not uncommon for the PSP patient to overcome these types of situations - but these situations once overcome are often accompanied by some increase in the PSP symptoms and a decrease in the quality of life.

Prevent solids or regular liquids from reaching the lungs to avoid eventual “aspiration pneumonia,” (Besides falls, this is another very important risk.)

• Add thickeners (eg, Resource from Nestle, Thick-it, Simply Thick-Easy Mix, CVs,etc.) to drinks (soups, water, Aquarius (*) orange or lemon or similar without gas, etc.) till obtain a sufficient glutinous liquid. To drink, it is advisable to use a special cup (Ornamin 815) with the chin as near as possible to the chest. Some mango and peach juices have an adequate consistency.

(*) Isotonic drinks are interesting to help maintain blood electrolytes at the correct level.

• The food must be moderately doughy and in small pieces, around ½”-3/4” if solid.

• The speech therapist has insisted that she should not take meals that "deceive" the mechanism of swallowing that is damaged. The foods that “deceive” are those that have liquids and solids in the same bite (eg, some beans with soup or a soup with pasta).

• Check the patient is sitting fully upright to eat and try not to have distractions around while he is eating.

• Making a puree with a hand blender is always a solution, but it is preferable to crush with a fork until a homogeneous paste without liquid and so as not forget the function of chewing. What is not used is lost!.

David750 point out: “I found with my wife (PSP) the food had to be more and more ultra smooth. Gauging this was difficult- not too runny not too thick. Liquidising food I found I had to be liquidised when hot to get the smoothness required. Any "grittiness" in the food caused choking”

In advanced stages of the disease, feeding the patient is a big problem. The patient is so bent forward and cannot tip his head back or move it, so feeding is now very difficult.

Look for a physician to rule out an infection in the respiratory tract. Get a pulse oximeter to control. (Fever is an indication usually either pneumonia or urinay tract infection (UTI) in PSP patients).

Prevent colds, common pneumonia (pneumococcal) and flu to avoid eventual infections. Vaccination for flu and pneumonia could be advisable. In our case we apply the vaccine against pneumonia and annually against the flu without problems.

On February 2021 there appear to be no contraindications to applying the COVID19 vaccines.

Hug and luck.

Luis

[Healthynotwealthy]

The hospital can provide a cough assist and also a suction machine to use at home to help prevent aspiration or its consequences.

We used a syringe for feeding liquids which meant we could better position the food in the mouth for easier swallowing.

Medications can also help with saliva secretions etc.

Hope you find a solution that works.