[jody]

Hi everyone, I have a 7 year old brother who's suffering from a specific phobia. He suddenly developed an extreme fear of choking and refuses to swallow. Now he barely eats liquid food, and even with such food he chews for 10 minutes on a teaspoon size portion and takes about 2 hours to finish a small bowl. He can't eat anything that's solid or sticky, not even bananas. This has been lasting for a month already, we thought things would get better, that it's just a temporary thing but by the looks of it now, it doesn't seem to be.

Has anyone here heard of a phobia of swallowing? Or have family members who've gone through something similar? I really don't know what to do...he's only 7 and we've been to countless doctors already and I can't think of anything that could have possibly triggered this. My mom's so exhausted by him...please help! I'd appreciate any advice, thank you!

[jsc1972]

maybe lollypops will help. tell him he can hold it and stop eating it when scared. maybe gum will help, too?

basically, you have to prevent him from experiencing any negative events to begin to trust his body again. try not making it such a big issue (even though it is) because he must feel IN CONTROL over his own body. intimidation and coercion to eat will only scare him more. maybe educate him more on how animals eat and babies eat by taking him to the library and seeing how the uvula works and breathing vs swallowing and slava processes work. try cooking foods that smell really good which excite his senses but don't offer him any, wait until he requests for the food (or grabs for some).

has he seen a specialist about this issue? if not trauma related, maybe there is something physiologically different about the way his esophagus is functioning. i hear cancer of throat can cause swallowing difficulties. maybe a psychologist he trusts can help him discover and understand what is going on with his body more.

wish your family the best (((HUGS))))

<font color=purple> But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one:
men know him not and to know not is to care not for.
Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897 </font color=purple>

[Dias]

yes maybe give em lots of candy but not tooo soury and sweet that would help,my mom di it to me >.< lol