The barium swallow is painless and yields a great deal of information to help make a correct diagnosis, so it’s a sensible test to be used in evaluating your trouble.

Barium is a liquid that shows up the outline of your organs when you have an x-ray. You might have this test to check part of your digestive system.

In this test the patient is asked to swallow a liquid that contains barium and further the X-rays are taken to see how the liquid moves through the esophagus and stomach.

A barium swallow test helps find the cause of difficulty swallowing. The patient drinks a barium solution, and X-rays are taken to spot any problems while they swallow.