• Pain while swallowing (odynophagia)
• Vomiting
• Coughing, choking or gagging when swallowing
• Frequent heartburn
• Taking more time and effort to move food or liquid from your mouth to stomach.

• Esophageal cancer:Most important and frequent cause of dysphagia which needs to be ruled out.
• GERD: acid reflux can cause spasm or scarring and non-cancerous narrowing (peptic stricture) of the lower esophagus.
• Achalasiacardia
• Muscle incoordination in esophagus causing obstruction to food bolus.
• Post corrosive stricture (narrowed esophagus)-acid burns in the food pipe causes narrowing of esophagus.
• Eosinophilic esophagitis: allergic reactions to food can cause dysphagia.
• Foreign bodies
• Esophageal webs and rings

Difficulty swallowing can lead to:

• Malnutrition, weight loss and dehydration.
• Aspiration pneumonia. Food or liquid can enter the airway and cause pneumonia.
• Choking

• Enlarged veins in your esophagus or stomach, called varices. Your doctor may prescribe medicines to lower the pressure in the veins of your esophagus or stomach. This lowers the chance that the veins become enlarged and burst, causing internal bleeding. If you vomit blood or have black or bloody stools go to a hospital right away.
• Swelling in your legs, ankles, or feet, called edema. Your doctor may prescribe medicines that remove fluid from your body. Your doctor will recommend limiting the amount of salt in your diet.
• Buildup of fluid in your abdomen, called ascites. Your doctor may prescribe medicines that remove fluid from your body. Your doctor will recommend limiting the amount of salt in your diet. I
• Confusion, difficulties thinking, memory loss, personality changes, or sleep disorders, called hepatic encephalopathy.

If dysphagia is not treatable by the above means then the following treatment can be done:

• A special liquid diet
• A feeding tube
• Esophageal stenting