Modified Mondays: We all scream for ice cream

Growing up, I had a pretty blessed childhood. My father worked in quality control for a dairy, specifically ice cream. During the summers, I would get to spend the day at work with him, taking a cup to vats and pouring out whatever ice cream I wanted. Which is why, when I hear the argument against ice cream for patients with dysphagia because it melts in the mouth, or because it’s a thin liquid, or because it melts to a liquid on trays, it just seems…. wrong.

A couple years ago, I mixed some barium with ice cream (do NOT recommend) and then watched myself swallow ice cream. I repeated several times, and it always stayed together, did not melt to a liquid, and behaved more like a solid in terms of the physiology needed. (This clip is a great example of solid ice cream behavior.)

At the same time, I called my dad and asked his thoughts on ice cream and melting and the consistency of melted ice cream, which turned into a couple long discussions on ingredients, milkfat and overrun, which eventually turned into some investigation using the IDDSI syringe testing, which turned into a poster session collaboration with my dad for presentation at #ASHA2021. The poster and our talk is now available in the ASHA Convention virtual library, and we will be live for Q&A on Friday November 19 at 9:30!

“Ice Cream and Swallowing: When Worlds Collide” Session 8553L