When Eating Gets Scary

Swallowing disorders can take a toll on a person's mental health, social life and overall quality of life

- Amrita Kaur

For most people, eating and drinking are basic actions they do not think twice about. But for some, every bite or sip can come with discomfort, fear and even danger.

Swallowing disorders such as dysphagia and achalasia can affect people of all ages. They not only make eating difficult, but can also take a toll on a person's mental health, social life and overall quality of life.

This was the reality for 24-year-old Muhammad Rahimi Hamdan, a student at ITE College West and part-time delivery rider, after a traffic accident in December 2024.

Thrown off his motorbike, Mr Rahimi suffered a traumatic injury that affected the left side of his brain, impacting movement on the right side of his body.

He also developed dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing.

Ms Michelle Kwan, senior speech therapist at Alexandra Hospital (AH), says traumatic brain injury can cause dysphagia, when areas of the brain that control the swallowing muscles are damaged.

This affects the coordination and strength needed to chew and transfer food from the mouth to the stomach safely.

Mr Rahimi had to use a nasogastric tube, which is inserted through the nose and into the stomach to provide nutrition and medication.

He was warded at National University Hospital for a month before moving to AH in January for rehabilitation. He was eventually discharged in March.

Homemaker Zarina Hassan, 59, says whenever she spoke to her son, he would look at her blankly and not be able to answer.

"I asked the doctor how long it would take to see improvement, and was told 'Maybe one year, two years or more," says Madam Zarina, who is married and has two other children aged 35 and 34.

"When I saw my son on the bed, not being able to talk, think and being only 24, I had to pull myself together to think that the only thing that can help him is therapy," she adds.