Medical Questions » Mouth and Throat Questions » Question No. 694
| Question: | At 84 years of age, I am having trouble swallowing and have a dry throat. What could cause this? |
| Answer: | The first thing that springs to mind in an older person is that the dryness is causing the difficulty in swallowing, and that side effects from medicine you are taking is causing the dryness. You should ask your doctor to review your medication to determine whether it may be responsible for your problems.
There are, of course, dozens of medical reasons for both a dry throat and difficulty in swallowing, and only appropriate investigation and examination will determine if any of these are present.
Possible causes can include fungal or bacterial infections of the throat, ulcers, allergies, tumours, anaemia, liver failure, excess alcohol, several different syndromes and a number of rarer diseases. Stress and anxiety can also cause a dry mouth and difficulty in swallowing in a condition known as globus.
A dry mouth is far more common in older people than younger ones, merely because the salivary glands are not working as well as they used to. Frequent sips of water and having a sips of a drink with your meal is the simplest way to overcome this problem.
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