My father’s swallowing problem

My 66-year-old father has been having difficulty with swallowing for the past few weeks. Each time he tries to swallow anything from liquid to food, he will complain of some pains in the throat. Kindly advise.

Bernard (by SMS)

Difficulty with swallowing known in medical term as Achalasia is a rare disorder of the oesophagus which makes swallowing liquids and foods difficult. The oesophagus is the food pipe that takes the food and liquid from your mouth and delivers it to your stomach. In achalasia, the nerves of the oesophagus are damaged and stop it from working properly. This will lead to food and liquids staying in the oesophagus or being sent back to the mouth and thrown out. Even though the definite causes of achalasia are still yet to be defined some of the causes range from Genetics or family history to Viral infections that lead to an autoimmune attack on oesophageal nerve cells, infections and degeneration of oesophageal nerve cells. This is a serious disorder which as in your father’s case, might get worse over time. Although it has no cure, treatments are available especially when medical care are quickly sought for.

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