Phagophobia is a psychogenic
dysphagia
Dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, in some contexts it is classified as a condition in its own right.
It may be a sensation that suggests difficulty in the passage of solids or liq ...
, a fear of
swallowing
Swallowing, sometimes called deglutition in scientific contexts, is the process in the human or animal body that allows for a substance to pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, and into the esophagus, while shutting the epiglottis. Swallowing i ...
.
[Shapiro J, Franko DL, Gagne A. Phagophobia: a form of psychogenic dysphagia. A new entity. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 1997; 106: 286-290.] It is expressed in various swallowing complaints without any apparent physical reason detectable by physical inspection and laboratory analyses. An obsolete term for this condition is choking phobia, but it was suggested that the latter term is confusing and it is necessary to distinguish the fear of swallowing (i.e., of the propulsion of
bolus) from
fear of choking.
[
Phagophobia is classified as a ]specific phobia
Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the o ...
and according to DSM-IV
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langu ...
classification it belongs to the category of "other phobias". Phagophobia may lead to (and be confused with) fear of eating, and the subsequent malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
and weight loss
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat ( adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other co ...
. In milder cases a phagophobe eats only soft and liquid foods.
See also
*Odynophagia
Odynophagia is pain when swallowing. The pain may be felt in the mouth or throat and can occur with or without difficulty swallowing. The pain may be described as an ache, burning sensation, or occasionally a stabbing pain that radiates to the b ...
*Pseudodysphagia
Pseudodysphagia, in its severe form, is the irrational fear of swallowing or, in its minor form, of choking. The symptoms are psychosomatic, so while the sensation of difficult swallowing feels authentic to the individual, it is not based on a r ...
*List of phobias
The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from Greek φόβος ''phobos'', "fear") occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental dis ...
Notes
References
*{{cite journal , last1= Klinger , first1= RL , last2= Strang , first2= JP , title= Psychiatric aspects of swallowing disorders , journal= Psychosomatics , year= 1987 , volume= 28 , issue= 11 , pages= 572–6 , doi= 10.1016/S0033-3182(87)72455-4 , pmid= 3324155
Phobias
Esophagus disorders