Hi, I have a quick question for you. How do the doctors see aspiration on a swallow study? They think this may be why my dd is always congested & wheezy & raspy, but will they only rule aspiration if they see it occur? She's had a couple upper gi's and I don't want it to be the same situation that they say she could have it, but they didn't see it (of course she puked afterward!)
TIA
Katie

Seeing aspiration on a swallow study is actually quite easy. The test is done under fluroscopy, which is basically a continuous x-ray, instead of a single picture, it's a movie, KWIM? While doing the fluro, your dd will be given various consistencies of barium to drink (thin, nectar-thick, honey-thick, etc). With the fluro, the doctor will be able to see all stages of the swallow as the barium passes through. If any should happen to pass through the vocal cords and into the trachea and lungs, they would be able to watch it happen. However, if you are concerned about aspiration with reflux, they may or may not see that, as your dd may not aspirate while drinking. It is possible though, that she might reflux during the test. That would be visible, especially if she aspirates because of it.

Good luck with the swallow study.