is aspiration common?

Question

is aspiration common?
how common is aspiration in epileptics? when they are not having seizures? my daughter has had aspiration pnumonia in the past and is 3yrs old she has always been epileptic she drinks from sippy cups so she doesn't aspirate and can't drink water,apple juice or any thin liquids without extremely being carefull

P.S. I have asked a dr but they can't really answer everyone is different just wondering about expereance?

Answer 1

She can aspirate stomach fluids from acid reflux - even in the middle of the night... her liquids need to be thickened and perhaps you can help her to learn to take smaller sips, hold it in her mouth and then swallow. monitor her breathing technique.. to ensure she's breathing between small swallows.

Answer 2

I don't think actual aspiration is a common occurrence but the potential for aspiration is great. That is why after an episode of seizures or unconsciousness one is turned to their side to prevent aspiration. The body's normal mechanism to prevent aspiration is coughing, if that reflex isn't there aspiration is very possible. Have you tried a substance called "thickening"? It is added to liquids to make them more tolerable for people to swallow without strangling, it's more commonly used for the elderly...

Answer 3

My daughter had frequent "aspiration pneumonia's" many times the location of the pneumonia makes doctors feel its due to aspiration. Has your daughter had a swallow study done? My daughter had so many tests done and so many "aspiration" pneumonia's through out her young life she was diagnosed with stage 4 chronic lung disease due to the damage these pneumonia's cause. Every test she had done came back within normal ranges. Finally a GI doctor placed a probe down her nose to the top of her stomach and monitored for 24 hours. The results were unbelievable he said in his 20+ years he had never seen PH level readings that my daughter has. Come to find out after years and years and years of battling "aspiration" that everyone assumed was from swallowing incorrectly it was in fact she had reflux so profound that it would come up into her little throat and micro aspirate into her lungs. Over the years we tired everything with her liquids including THICK IT. My daughter also has epilepsy and over the years her epiglottis stopped functioning properly and slowed down for some reason. I wish you luck. And hope they can find the reason your daughter aspirates before she develops chronic lung disease like my little girl did. She was diagnosed at 10 with stage 4 chronic lung disease she is now 13.

Answer 4

Aspiration can occur for a number of reasons. Drug overdose, stroke, MS, ALS, newborns, etc. Sippy cups will not help in the occurances of aspiration. I am a respiratory therapist and work with this all the time, but the real experts are speech pathologists. I would contact one soon, they are extremely helpful.