When the service users are feeling confused they can have eating disorder which they might not want to eat anymore, they might feel that they have eaten already but they haven’t, they might not want to eat food anymore which will cause them to lose alot of weight in small amount of time. There are lots of eating disorder signs that can occur in a service user which are:
- Eating a lot of food then they need
- Eating until they are sick
- No eating because they feel sick
- Eating when feeling stressed
- Not eating because they feel obese/overweight.
Service users who have difficulty swallowing:
“Difficulty with swallowing is the sensation that food is stuck in the throat, or from the neck down to just above the abdomen behind the breastbone (sternum).”
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There are many service users who have difficulties swallowing food which they might not be able to chew properly. Swallowing difficulties can e because they might have had a stroke in the past or is currently suffering from Parkinson disease which they might forget how to swallow properly. Swallowing difficulties occur because the service user’s throat might not be able to work properly which makes it difficult for them to swallow.
If any service user has difficulties swallowing then they should eat food which will help them such as puree or minced food. Eating minced food will become easier for them to chew or swallow and pureed food will overcome their swallowing difficulties because it is solid food which has turned into liquid.
Jenna in Greyfriers makes sure that the care workers give her food which she will be able to swallow without any difficulties because she loves her food and does not want any problems when having food. The care workers who serve Jenna should always make sure that they ask her permission because they make the food into puree or cut into tiny pieces.
Sometime when the service users try to swallow food, it can get stuck into the base of the throat which they will find it very annoying and also might put the off from eating food which they might like. There are many reasons why foods get stuck into the base of the throat these are because:
- The muscle doesn’t let food enter the stomach
- Poor contraction of muscles when swallowing
- Some kind of food blocking the throat
- Difficulty swallowing solid food
Sore throat is another problem which causes swallowing difficulties in service users such as when a service users has a sore throat he might not be able to swallow food easily because if they swallow food then their throat is going to hurt. To avoid this situation the service users have to make sure that they eat food which will not harm their throat and will swallow easily without any difficulties.
Emily from Greyfriers had sore throat on Christmas party which prevented her from eating food which was cold and crunchy because it would make her situation worse. To avoid sore throat getting worse she ate food which the service users recommended to her in the pary such as eating cake and custard or eating chicken which she will be able to swallow without difficulties.
Service users who have chewing difficulties:
There are many service users who will be not be able to eat without difficulties chewing because they might not produce enough saliva which will result in their chewing difficulties. For this reason they will not be able to enjoy their food properly because it it difficult for them to chew so the care workers will be giving them food that might not enjoy eating most such as purees and food mash.
“Difficulty chewing can result from pain in the mouth, stiffness or pain in the jaw muscles, or problems with the teeth. Difficulty with chewing meats, fruits, and vegetables can make it hard to eat a nutritious diet.”
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Service users who have difficulties chewing can be because they might be suffering from physical changes that take place inside their mouth such as having a blister on their jaws or their tongue might be hurting. There are many service users in care settings who might have mouth cancer which will make it difficult for them to swallow food and chew food which is hard and chewy such as meat or apples.
Jimmy from Greyfriers has chewing difficulties; he is restricted from having chewy food such as meat or chicken. However Jimmy loves meat and chicken so he told one of the care workers that they should allow him have it once a week so he doesn’t crave for it. The care workers make sure that they cut the meat or chicken into small pieces so it is easy for Jimmy to chew on his meat.
Some people can also have chewing difficulties because they won’t produce enough saliva which makes it hard for them to chew without making their food wet. Chewing food is very important because it would be hard for older people to swallow their food without chewing into smaller pieces. Service users who don’t produce enough saliva can be because they smoke regularly and have bad breath which stops the saliva from producing.
Victor in Greyfriers smokes regularly which the care workers tell him to stop because he might catch lung cancer however he doesn’t stop. He has now stopped producing enough saliva which makes it harder for him to swallow food. The care workers fear that he might become weaker day by day as he is not eating food and smoking regularly.
Care workers who have difficulties chewing can make sure that they eat right kind of food which will make it easier for them to swallow food such as eating noodles, tomatoes or fish. There are many other foods which they can eat which does not require a lot of chewing because it might be soft or already into smaller pieces.
These foods can be any from these:
- Noodles
- Oatmeal breakfast
- Melon
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Banana
- Grapes
- Minced meat
- Eggs
- Fish
- Cheese
These foods chosen will help them keep a balanced diet as well as easier for them to chew and swallow easily. The care workers can make sure that they cut or chop the service users food into smaller pieces before they eat however asking their permission first. Without permission it can be offensive for the service users if they receive their meal all chopped into small pieces when they might not want to eat chopped food.
Service users who have chewing problems can be because they might have missing teeth such as incisors which they will cut their food with or they might have dentures which makes it difficult for service users to chew as the food might regularly gets stuck into their dentures. To avoid any kind of dentures problem the service users should make sure that they visit their dentist to get their dentures fixed.
Care workers should also realise if the service users have difficulties chewing because some service uses might not want to tell someone that their dealing with chewing problems because they don’t want to trouble their selves going into hardship such as going to the dentist or the doctors regularly. There are many signs which can indicate that the service users have chewing problems these can be:
- Putting effort into chewing
- Eating slowly
- Choking on food while eating
- Drooling
- Making noises when chewing food.
The care workers should make sure that they ask the service users questions when they are finding it difficult to chew such as asking them ‘is it difficult for you to chew on chewy food?’ or ‘Do you give me permission to give you less chewy food next time’ etc…
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