Dry Mouth Causes and More Serious Health Problems

31 Jul Dry Mouth Causes and More Serious Health Problems

All of us have dry mouth from time to time. Especially when we experience a prolonged period of stress or when we’re really nervous. You might notice that there is not enough saliva to keep your mouth wet. It is one thing to have dry mouth occasionally and a completely different thing to have it all the time.  There are many factors that can cause the dry mouth to happen and some of them include some serious illnesses. If your mouth is constantly dry, don’t overlook the symptom, because it might be due to a more serious health problem.

Here are some dry mouth causes to look out for:

• Medication might be to blame. If you’re taking any of the following: pain killers, antihistamines or medicine for high blood pressure. The medication for depression might cause the dry mouth as well.
• Diseases that affect salivary glands such as Hodgkin’s, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS, Sjogren’s syndrome & even diabetes.
• Any type of radiation to your head or neck, during cancer treatment. The loss of saliva might be only temporary in this case.
• In case you’re undergoing cancer treatment – the chemotherapy can cause your saliva to change and thicken, making your mouth dry.
• Menopause might be the reason why you have dry mouth. The hormonal imbalance in your body can cause this symptom.
• And finally, if you’re a smoker you might regularly experience dry mouth as well.

Additional symptoms to find out if you have dry mouth:

• Dry feeling or metallic taste in your mouth;
• Chapped lips;
• Bad breath and mouth sores;
• Trouble swallowing, chewing and speaking;
• You notice that you have a bad breath very frequently.

If you experience any of the symptoms above, it might be due to stress. If dry mouth doesn’t disappear after a period of time, please don’t neglect your health and make an appointment with your doctor.

Photo by PICSELI on Unsplash.