Dysphagia at the age of 21: "I carry my thickening powders in my bag to have drinks at the disco"

• Dysphagia and malnutrition should be considered post-Covid syndromes, according to a Spanish study

At only 21 years old, Nuria Jordá has had to relearn all her routines after the diagnosis of

The young woman, a native of Gandía, has spent more than five months looking for the simplest ways -and possible within her complications- to sleep, brush her teeth, shower and even drink a glass of water.

"It has been a complicated process, what was as simple as drinking water has become

," explains Jordá.

Despite all the psycho-social effects that this pathology entails, the Valencian is calm and optimistic, "my father went through dysphagia and now seeing him eat normally makes me more sure that everything will pass," she adds.

We serve a perfectly measured amount of water, mix it with a thickening powder, stir vigorously and wait for it to settle.

Once the concoction is formed, Jordá proceeds to take

A laborious maneuver that makes even the simple act of hydration tiresome and therefore is considered one of the greatest risks, "people with dysphagia have problems controlling food in the mouth, forming a bolus and carrying it towards the throat. to eat or hydrate that increases the

", details

, spokesperson for the Spanish Association of Speech Therapy, Phoniatrics and Audiology (Aelfa).

But, all this ritual has not been a problem for Jordá, who assures that with psychological help, the support of his friends, the strength of his mother and the experiences lived with his father and sister, everything has been easier.

"I did the tests because the genetic mutation protocol was activated after my sister was diagnosed with a carotid tumor, the same one I ended up having," explains Nuria Jordá.

dysphagia and more things, in the end I thought, if he has achieved it, I will also be able to", she adds.

What is dysphagia?

A swallowing disorder, possible in any age group, but more frequent in elderly people with

as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis, can also be manifested by "some cancer treatments, surgeries in the mouth, throat or esophagus", points out the Aelfa spokesperson.

"Increased time for meals, involuntary weight loss,

", are some of the key signs for the detection of this disorder , says the specialist.

The day to day of a person swallowing problems

Currently, Jordá has shown on TikTok how to deal with dysphagia in the most positive way and even without neglecting the pleasures of other mortals.

Like all young people, and not so young as they are, he enjoys a few dances at the disco, so

he says.

"I go to the bathroom with my friends and there we start to make the concoction", in search of a little privacy.

"Although it never fails to explain to the doorman what dysphagia is, while he checks the bag with the thickening powders," he adds.

Attitude is the most important.

"It was hard for me to come home and see that I had to adapt all my meals, or that I had to look at the menu of a place 20 times to see if there was something that fit me", something that failed in many cases, he details.

In the end, after a lot of practice and the loss of importance in what they will say, she had no choice but to

"in case the restaurant did not have creams or could not crush something on the menu Jordan confesses.

But, there is a solution.

"I bought myself a

and now, without any shame, I grind whatever I want at the restaurant table."

Thanks to that

, he explains.

Which is the treatment?

Something routine for Nuria and that has aroused the curiosity of her almost half a million followers on

, but is there a cure?

The answer is yes, although it depends on the case.

and must be treated under the supervision of speech therapists, nutritionists, digestive specialists and psychologists, among other professionals.

"I go daily to

- as he refers to his speech therapist - and there we work on the strength of the muscles in swallowing or the loss of neck sensitivity. There are days when

to see if I can go from a pudding texture to a honey texture," explains Jordá.

There is no set date for the solution, but "I'm getting better," he adds.

Dysphagia changes daily activities

The impact of dysphagia goes beyond food.

The way in which it affects the patient's quality of life has psychosocial consequences for both the person and their family.

"At first I thought that I would not change anything beyond my way of eating", but no, "the first day I came home when

, so I had to start to find my own techniques. Now I brush them with my head down", confesses the

.

Everything has changed, even to take a shower or to take a dip in the pool,

, she adds.

The same to sleep, doing it on your back "would be absolute madness", describes the young woman.

, plus I'm now wearing a muscle band around my throat to slow down saliva production."

Along the same lines as oral secretions, "the greatest risk of choking occurs with mixtures of solid and liquid such as stew, or solids such as meat", details the speech therapist.

Pudding consistency

"To modify the consistency, commercial thickeners or products such as corn, wheat, or potato flour can be used," she adds.

As the patient progresses, they will be able to modify the texture of their meals, going from pudding to honey-type, then to nectar and finally ending with clear liquids -texture similar to that of water-.

The diet is complicated and, therefore, the specialist recommends taking maximum care of the presentations, the organoleptic properties, the temperature and the flavor in order to stimulate the appetite.

explains Jordá.

The young woman has a paternal reference, "many years ago he had dysphagia and now he can eat rice, that makes me more sure that everything has a solution," concludes Nuria Jordá.

Dysphagia goes viral on TikTok

After more than a year of doctors to Nuria, who was studying in Madrid but who traveled to Valencia regularly to go to the hospital, she had no choice but to

"They've been telling me every detail of their day, every class gossip, everything, they haven't let me miss a thing," she explains.

So, with all this new routine, "I thought it was a good idea to tell

to go on a trip," he adds.

After a few hours, Nuria saw that the video she uploaded for her friends on TikTok had more than 200,000 views.

"I was wrong and I didn't put it in private, so it went viral in a few hours,

details.

"I began to have more followers and to respond to the curiosities that were raised", and so now, Nuria has become the voice of dysphagia among young people with almost half a million followers.

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