[Dysphagia] Frazier Water protocol screening form

[eripley at yahoo.com (Irene Campbell-Taylor)]

I continue to be amazed at the concern about drinking water and the possibility of aspiration. The Frazier hospital has been using this approach for, I believe, over 20 years with no problems - or they wouldn't still be using it. The most dangerous thing one can aspirate mot of the time - barring something that will block the airway or oil, acid or large amounts of vomitus - is one's own saliva. It is possible to drown in relatively clear water and come to no harm- at 88ml of water per kg of body weight required for drowning hypoxia. And, to cap it all, until relatively recently, bronchograms were done by deliberately injecting barium and water into the lung. How much harm can a few mouthfuls of tap water possibly do?  There's at least one judge - in Montana- who decided that water was just fine for adults with DD in a major center and to date, no problems have arisen - over five years. Can we just apply known physiology and common sense?


Dr I Campbell-Taylor
Clinical Neuroscientist
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