General information, not an individual diagnosis. Ask a healthcare professional if you are unsure about your situation.
After inhaling solid food, an adult who can neither cough nor speak and has severe breathing difficulty, blue lips or nails, sweating, agitation or a very rapid heartbeat is asphyxiating. Call 15 or 112 in France and immediately give appropriate first aid.
In that adult, without asphyxia, including breathing discomfort with coughing and noisy breathing or mild to moderate coughing without breathing discomfort, do not perform an expulsion manoeuvre: it can move the food and cause asphyxiation. Keep the person seated and take them to hospital, even if they seem relieved.
Outside an acute episode, persistent difficulty swallowing, repeated coughing during meals or unexplained weight loss warrants a consultation. Also report a wet-sounding voice after eating or repeated respiratory infections.
Swallowing coordinates the passage of food and liquids while protecting the airway. Problems can arise, for example, after a stroke, with neurological disease or after certain cancer treatments; the doctor investigates the cause.
Depending on individual needs, assessment may combine a medical examination, speech and language therapy assessment, swallowing tests and nutritional assessment. These tests are not all automatic: the team chooses those relevant to your situation.
The professional may suggest exercises and personalised meal adaptations. Ask which textures, positions or supports are appropriate for you and when to review them; do not replace assessment with a general rule found online.
Sources
Your health review
Review your health
Mon bilan prévention is an appointment to discuss your habits and choose your health priorities. Review the four age groups and practical information.