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Prevention
To help reduce your chances of getting aspiration pneumonia, take the following steps:
- Follow your doctor’s orders when fasting before any surgery. This lowers the chance that while under anesthesia you could vomit the contents of your stomach, which may enter your airway and lead to pneumonia.
- If you have a swallowing problem, a speech specialist may suggest you change the texture of your foods. You may need to thicken liquids or chop or puree solids. Perhaps in severe cases, you may need to avoid eating foods and drinking liquids by mouth. You may then need to have a tube placed into your stomach or small intestine for formula feeding.