First, the elderly choke and cough how to do 1, adjust the way to swallow Through different postures to change the flow of food. Swallowing with the head down can protect the tracheal passage, avoid food or liquid too quickly into the throat, so that eating more safely. For people who are bedridden for a long time, they need to shake the head of the bed 90 degrees before eating. 2.Adjust the speed and amount of eating Swallowing in small bites can reduce the amount of food left in the throat. Swallow several times per bite, clear your throat after swallowing to ensure a clean swallow and avoid food or drug residue. If it is easy to choke with a straw, switch to a spoon or slanted cup to control the amount of food eaten. 3. Adjust the texture of the food Increase the consistency of the liquid, add thickening agent or thicken the water or soup to make it thicker and reduce the flow rate of the liquid to avoid flowing into the respiratory tract too quickly. Do not eat food that is too hard to avoid getting stuck in the throat. 4. Do more swallowing exercises Falsetto exercises: make the “one” sound, slowly raise the pitch, the pitch rises as high as possible until the highest tone; maintain the high pitch for 5 seconds, repeat 8 times. Hold the tongue exercise: extend the tongue forward, teeth gently bite to fix the tip of the tongue, swallow saliva, the tip of the tongue should still be maintained outside, repeat 8 times. Can increase the strength of the tongue root and pharyngeal muscles to reduce food residue. Second, the elderly drink water why always choke Drinking water choking is more common than ever, as long as the attention is not concentrated, while drinking water and talking to people, inattentive will choke on water. But you can’t underestimate choking, if the frequency is particularly high, and not doing other things when drinking water, especially the elderly should be alert. Some elderly people find that they often can not swallow when eating or drinking water, it is easy to choke. However, this phenomenon rarely gets the attention of the elderly and their families or caregivers. Many people take it for granted that this is because people are getting old. Experts remind people that swallowing difficulty is a very fatal thing for the elderly and must be given sufficient attention. Swallowing is a complex reflex process. After the food is chewed in the mouth, it has to wait for the trachea to close and the esophagus to open before it can enter the esophagus and pass through the esophagus into the stomach. This process is completely dependent on neural reflexes, and central and peripheral nerves play a regulatory and controlling role in the swallowing process. The so-called “dysphagia” refers to the blockage when eating, where there is an obstacle to the passage of the food mass and it stagnates, or the food mass cannot enter the esophagus and stops in the mouth. In normal people, “choking” may occasionally occur when swallowing large pieces of food masses too quickly, but if dysphagia is detected, it should be taken seriously and diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. In the lighter cases, choking and coughing may occur, while in the more serious cases, the airway may be obstructed due to aspiration or airway compression, which may lead to asphyxia and endanger life. In addition, patients may suffer from malnutrition due to difficulties in eating. Some elderly patients even choke on water, thus reducing water intake and causing dehydration, all of which are dangerous for the elderly. Swallowing function is mainly related to the coordination of the soft palate swallowing function, which is controlled by the nerve center, so the elderly should be alert to the presence of cavernous infarction. Of course, there is no need to overstress, as lacunar infarction is not the same as cerebral infarction, which is a very small occlusion of small blood vessels with relatively mild symptoms, but requires active intervention to prevent further aggravation of the condition. Some middle-aged and elderly people suffer from cerebrovascular disease as well as traumatic brain injury, which affects the vagus nerve, the linguopharyngeal nerve and the facial nerve, making swallowing difficult. Therefore, elderly people with cerebrovascular diseases and patients who are bedridden for a long time are most likely to have difficulty swallowing. The occurrence of cerebral hemorrhage in people without a history of hypertension or cardiovascular disease is often easily misdiagnosed and the occurrence of stroke is easily overlooked. Third, how to prevent choking and coughing when eating and drinking Introduce a few precautions when drinking and eating, can effectively help the elderly to eat and drink smoothly to avoid or reduce the occurrence of choking and coughing. Incision cup feeding tool 1, swallowing disorder patients when drinking water precautions can not use a straw, because the straw drinking requires more complex oral function; if drinking with a cup, the cup of water should be kept at least half a cup, because too little water when the patient needs to drink with the head down position will increase the risk of accidental aspiration. 2.Patients with swallowing disorder should be given precautions when eating. Give a semi-seated position, 30-60 degrees, or a healthy-side position if you cannot sit down; choose soft, semi-fluid or mushy food; eat small amounts of food, 300 ml each time; if there is food left in the mouth, use the tongue movement to send the food backward to facilitate swallowing; provide sufficient time for eating, and keep the original position for 30 minutes after eating. Retain the original body position for 30 minutes after eating.