It’s easy to take swallowing for granted. But if you have an esophageal stricture, swallowing can become more difficult, making eating an uncomfortable and anxious experience.
An esophageal stricture is a narrowing of your esophagus — the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. When you swallow food, that narrowing makes it difficult for food to enter your stomach, resulting in an array of symptoms.
As a leading gastroenterology practice in Moline, Illinois, and Bettendorf, Iowa, Digestive Disease Specialists offers esophageal stricture treatments to help relieve your symptoms and prevent complications.
In this post, our team reviews four symptoms associated with esophageal strictures to help you get the most appropriate care as quickly as possible.
Also called dysphagia, problems swallowing is a common symptom associated with esophageal stricture. Narrowing of your esophagus makes it harder for food (and even liquids) to pass, resulting in uncomfortable symptoms when eating and drinking.
Dysphagia can become worse over time, leading to mounting anxiety surrounding meals. In some instances, anxiety can lead to eating disorders and malnutrition. Early treatment helps prevent these consequences while also relieving your symptoms.
Esophageal narrowing doesn't just make it more difficult to swallow. When the tube narrows, swallowing can cause a lot of discomfort, including burning sensations or outright pain in your throat or esophagus.
Also called odynophagia, swallowing pain is often related to inflammation and irritation in your esophagus that combine to make swallowing extremely uncomfortable. Once again, early treatment is essential for preventing permanent tissue changes that require more complex management.
When most of us swallow, food moves smoothly through the esophagus and into the stomach. But for people with esophageal stricture, the narrowing can slow that process, resulting in the uncomfortable sensation that food is stuck or hung up rather than moving into your stomach.
Some people feel compelled to vomit to eliminate the food and sensation. Like swallowing pain, this sensation can make eating a harrowing experience for many people, leading to eating problems and nutrition issues.
Esophageal stricture can become worse over time. That means your symptoms can be worse too.
Many people find they develop frequent episodes of choking that make eating and drinking — and obtaining important nutrients — problematic and even scary. Prompt treatment and early management help resolve or prevent choking episodes.
Esophageal stricture treatment begins with a review of your symptoms and medical history followed by a swallowing exam. Your exam may include diagnostic imaging using ultrasound or special X-rays, an endoscopy to see inside your esophagus, or esophageal manometry to measure pressure inside your esophagus.
Our team also considers the cause of your esophageal stricture before advising treatment. Possible causes include:
While some patients can benefit from medicine to control underlying causes like GERD, most people enjoy optimal results with an outpatient procedure that uses a special balloon to gently dilate your esophagus, widening the tube to make swallowing easier and more comfortable.
Esophageal stricture responds best when treated early. If you have any swallow-related symptoms, book an appointment online or over the phone with Digestive Disease Specialists today, so we can evaluate the cause and prescribe a treatment plan just for you.
