Difference Between Aphasia and Dysphagia (With Table)

Aphasia is caused due to head injury or brain damage that happens due to a brain tumor. A speech and language therapist will take care of you when you are affected by aphasia. They will motivate you in speaking and understanding. It will give you much-needed confidence. Because these people will lose their confidence and strength when they find they cannot speak and hear properly. 

Dysphagia is a disease where the person will find it hard to swallow their food. It will become a serious problem when the person has dementia. In some cases, Dysphagia will go on its own because it is a temporary disease and not a permanent one. Dysphagia people should eat only soft and mushy foods. They should not eat hard foods and meat that are not cooked properly. 

Comparison Table Between Aphasia and Dysphagia

What is Aphasia?

Aphasia is a brain disorder that damages a person’s brain and impacts their ability to understand and speak. Aphasia will be further divided into 3 types. And all these 3 types will affect your speaking and hearing abilities. In your brain, there will be a dominant language side. The area will be affected when the person gets aphasia. This will happen due to a head injury or brain tumor. Taking care of our brain is very important if we want to avoid this disorder.

As of now, there is no cure for aphasia. Some people will accept it as fate and try to move on with their life. But you have to remember and keep on fighting that you can improve your condition. Having strength and courage is the only way to improve your condition. Aphasia can be tested by an MRI scan. This will help them to identify what causing aphasia. Some people will go for speech and language therapy for their treatment. 

Because these are the only hopes available for aphasia patients. For some people, it will improve on its own without any treatment if the person is lucky. A speech and language therapist will take care of this treatment. If you get admitted to the hospital for aphasia treatment, there will be a speech and language therapy team available. You can even drive if you have aphasia. For that, you should be very confident even if you fail to speak properly. It can also come suddenly after you are affected by a stroke or head injury. 

What is Dysphagia?

Dysphagia is a disease that will create discomfort in swallowing. It will be caused when your nervous system gets affected or head injury and stroke. Even cancers will create Dysphagia in some patients. When you swallow some food, you will feel terrible pain. You will feel that your food got stuck inside your mouth or between the back of your breastbone. It will create an uneasy feeling in the patient. 

This condition will be temporary in a person. In that case, it will go on its own. You can do small exercises for swallowing to fix Dysphagia. People who are having problems with their brain, nerves, and muscles will do these exercises so that they can swallow their food easily. If you find solid foods hard to swallow, then switch to liquid foods first. It will give you a chance, and you will no longer feel any discomfort.

ENT doctor will help in treating Dysphagia. Since they are dealt with neurological problems. If you have any anxiety attacks, you will feel difficulty swallowing. Don’t ignore it when you find difficulty in swallowing. Not only it might be Dysphagia, but it could also lead to some other diseases as well. A swallow test will also be taken to find the reasons for not being able to swallow your food. People who have Dysphagia will also find dementia in their later stages. Dysphagia can be caused due to dementia as well.

Main Differences Between Aphasia and Dysphagia

1. Aphasia is a disorder where the speaking and hearing ability of a person will be affected. On the other hand, Dysphagia is a disease where the person will find trouble swallowing.
2. Aphasia is caused due to damage the brain. Dysphagia is caused due to nerve problems. 
3. People having aphasia will find difficulty in speaking and forming sentences. On the other hand, dysphagia people will find their food getting choked when they eat.
4. The medicine used for aphasia is dopamine and amphetamines. On the other hand, the medicine used for Dysphagia is diltiazem.
5. Aphasia people’s life will be affected in the form of understanding other people’s words. On the other hand, Dysphagia people’s life will be affected by pneumonia and malnutrition.

Conclusion

Both are caused due to common reasons. But the impact will be different. Because when the person gets Aphasia, then there is no medicine available to cure them. They have to try and accept this. Some steps can be taken to take care of their speaking and hearing disorders. In Dysphagia, it will be a temporary one so it can go away on its own.

Also, it has medicine to cure the disease. But the person having dementia should be more careful in their last stage. Because they can develop dementia in their last stage. Taking all the necessary steps and preventing our body from head injuries and stroke is very important to avoid these diseases. Because once we get them, it will be like a nightmare in our life. 

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021992413000117
2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/136132804805575949