WHY THE ELDERLY ARE AT RISK FOR CHOKING
- Missing teeth
- Dentures
- As our bodies age we produce less saliva making swallowing difficult
- Loss of muscle strength in the mouth and throat
- Eating too quickly
- Poor posture
- Parkinson’s disease
- Dementia
- Cerebral Palsy or other neurological disorders
- Not being able to see food well causes the swallowing of a foreign object
- Putting too much into the mouth at one time
NURSING HOMES ARE REQUIRED TO PREVENT CHOKING BY:
- Identifying residents at an increased risk of choking
- Avoid foods with an increased risk of choking such as food with bones, steak, bread, rice, and peanut butter
- Avoiding extremely dry foods like muffins and bread
- Making sure safe food is cut into smaller pieces
- Providing soft food diets when necessary
- Ensuring the resident is drinking enough fluid while eating
- Supervising residents at high risk for choking
- Ensuring adequate staff is available to oversee mealtime
- Ensuring staff is attentive to residents during mealtime
- Ensuring staff is able to quickly and properly respond to a choking emergency
- Not rushing mealtime
- Checking feeding tubes
INJURIES CAUSED BY CHOKING:
- Death
- Loss of oxygen to the brain
- Brain Death
- Neurological Injury
- Aspiration
- Pneumonia
- Cardiac Arrest
- Pulmonary Arrest
- Malnutrition
- Damage to the esophagus