It's tough to swallow: a practical approach to nutritional care of dysphagia.

Have you ever swallowed a food or liquid only to have it "go down the wrong way"? If you have, then you have an idea of what it might be like to have a swallowing problem. Now multiply that experience times the more than 600 times a day that we normally swallow! Imagine how difficult it would be to deal with that on a daily basis. Approximately 6-15 million Americans are affected by dysplagia (chewing and swallowing problems). About 53-74% of nursing home residents, 14% of hospital patients and 33% of rehabilitation center patients have some form of dysphagia, which can have a dramatic impact on nutritional status.