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What Causes Excessive Chewing Of Food Before Swallowing?
Question: Hi
My daughter 8.5 years old has swallowing difficulty, she is chewing and chewing and chewing her food before she can swallow it,
Before six weeks from today she was diagnosed in Kuwait with Anemia and she is taking Iron syrup 11.5 ml at night,
as a Father I worry a lot please help
Thank you
My daughter 8.5 years old has swallowing difficulty, she is chewing and chewing and chewing her food before she can swallow it,
Before six weeks from today she was diagnosed in Kuwait with Anemia and she is taking Iron syrup 11.5 ml at night,
as a Father I worry a lot please help
Thank you
Brief Answer:
There can be several reasons for such behaviour
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Welcome to the HCM
The excessive chewing of food before swallowing can be due to reasons such as enlarged tonsils, oral ulcers, anxiety disorder, obsession disorder, poor appetite or just normal behaviour.
So, I would recommend you to take the following measures to help her out:
1. Examine her throat for enlarged congested tonsils and ulcers. You May visit an ENT specialist for examination if required. If present, a 5-7 days course of appropriate antibiotics such as Amoxicillin or Azithromycin will be useful.
2. Ensure regular communication to rule out any anxiety, stress, poor appetite as it's cause. If suspected, then psychotherapist may help you with proper therapy. Treatment will depend on the cause.
3. The most common reason for such complaints is a normal behavioural variation which improves without any intervention over a few months.
A rare cause is oesophageal obstructive lesions which require radiological imaging (barium swallow) for diagnosis.
Hopefully this will help you.
Take care
There can be several reasons for such behaviour
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Welcome to the HCM
The excessive chewing of food before swallowing can be due to reasons such as enlarged tonsils, oral ulcers, anxiety disorder, obsession disorder, poor appetite or just normal behaviour.
So, I would recommend you to take the following measures to help her out:
1. Examine her throat for enlarged congested tonsils and ulcers. You May visit an ENT specialist for examination if required. If present, a 5-7 days course of appropriate antibiotics such as Amoxicillin or Azithromycin will be useful.
2. Ensure regular communication to rule out any anxiety, stress, poor appetite as it's cause. If suspected, then psychotherapist may help you with proper therapy. Treatment will depend on the cause.
3. The most common reason for such complaints is a normal behavioural variation which improves without any intervention over a few months.
A rare cause is oesophageal obstructive lesions which require radiological imaging (barium swallow) for diagnosis.
Hopefully this will help you.
Take care
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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