Viscgo sticks.
No, they’re not those glow sticks that you had at your 90s raves.
Not Viscgo Sticks
But they are a super helpful way of testing the consistency of thickened liquids.
IDDSI use a flow test. There’s some debate about how reliable this is, not least because getting hold of the right luer tip syringes can be tricky.
And chefs don’t keep luer tip syringes in their kitchens. And they need to check liquids from time to time.
Here at Dysphagia Kitchen, we’ve been letting people know about Viscgo sticks for a while.
The lovely people at Viscgo sent me a pack and I tested liquids at IDDSI Levels 1, 2 and 3 using a gum-based thickener.
I followed the instructions to the letter.
Now I’ve bigged them up, did it work?!
IDDSI Level 1
IDDSI Level 2
IDDSI Level 3
YES!!!
How can I tell?
Like this:
IDDSI Level 1
IDDSI Level 2
IDDSI Level 3
The pack comes with a Viscgo case including the sticks and a fab stirrer (I call it a swizzel stick – not to be confused with the swizzel sticks of the 1970s).
Not a Viscgo stirrer
Viscgo case with IDDSI Level 2 sticks and stirrer
For more details, check out the Viscgo website.
Sandra is affiliated with Viscgo. And she wouldn't do that if they weren't brilliant.