After a swallow assessment people may be advised to adjust the texture of their food or drinks to make them safer or easier to swallow. The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) is used to describe the texture of foods and thickness of drinks and has been in use in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust since October 2018.

Find out more from the IDDSI website. There is also a helpful free IDDSI app available to download.

The IDDSI framework consists of 8 levels (0 to 7), where drinks are measured from Levels 0 to 4, while foods are measured from Levels 3 to 7. The IDDSI Framework provides a common terminology to describe food textures and drink thickness.

Eating and drinking safely

The following may help to make eating and drinking safer and meal times more enjoyable:

• Eat slowly and chew food well – allow extra time for eating & drinking
• Don’t overfill your mouth – take small sips or mouthfuls
• Smaller meals can be easier to manage. If losing weight, you may need to add in extra snacks between meals
• Avoid foods which are hard, chewy, tough, fibrous, have stringy textures, pips/seeds, bones or gristle
• Sit fully upright if possible – ideally try to remain sitting upright for 30 minutes after your meal
• Make sure each mouthful is swallowed properly before taking the next – it may be necessary to swallow at least twice after every mouthful to make sure everything has gone down
• Avoid eating or drinking when you are drowsy
• Avoid using spouted beakers or straws unless specifically recommended by a speech & language therapist
• Avoid distractions at meal times, for example, TV, music (you may be more likely to choke if you are focusing on something else)
• Don’t try to talk while eating or drinking
• Good oral hygiene makes eating more enjoyable and safer – regularly brush your teeth and gums or clean dentures