When people say “my mouth is watering,” they usually mean that something looks and smells delicious. Alas, for those who suffer from hypersalivation, this expression takes on a different, much less pleasant meaning. Increased salivation may indicate health problems. Hypersalivation is often a side effect of a particular disease. If you think your body is producing too much saliva, consult your dentist or physician.
Below is some general information about saliva to help you better understand what to do about excess saliva.
Functions of saliva
Saliva is one of the most important components of the digestive system. It is practically colorless and odorless, but has a slightly sour taste. Its production involves the salivary glands located around the jaw. One of the main functions of saliva is the initial digestion of food by softening it during chewing in the mouth before swallowing.
Saliva contains the enzyme amylase, which takes part in the breakdown of starch into simple sugars. Saliva also provides additional disinfection of food and enhances its taste. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for the production of salivary fluid, and the smell and taste of food is responsible for stimulating secretory function.
Salivation has a complex reflex nature
How does the infection manifest and why is it dangerous?
The most striking symptom of oral candidiasis is a white, loose coating on the mucous membrane. It mainly covers the tongue, cheeks, and may affect the gums and palate. Plaque can be easily scraped out; the tissue underneath is prone to redness and may bleed. Other signs of the disease include:
- unpleasant taste;
- dry mouth;
- burning;
- the appearance of cracks in the corners of the lips;
- difficulty or painful swallowing;
- unpleasant sensations with habitual movements of the tongue.
Candidiasis can be acute or chronic. In most cases, it is the acute form that manifests itself; the chronic form is typical for carriers of HIV infections and smokers. Depending on the degree and form of the disease, other symptoms may be observed, so even if one or two appear, you should immediately contact your dentist.
What is hypersalivation?
An adult normally produces a moderate amount of salivary fluid: no more than 1 ml per 5 minutes. If drooling is increased, then significantly more saliva is produced (up to 5 ml during the same time), and a reflexive desire also arises to frequently spit out the secretions accumulated in the mouth.
Usually the sense of taste is reduced, in other cases the sensitivity of tastes may be too sharp or distorted. This mechanism works something like this. A person sees food, and in response to this, the amount of saliva in his mouth increases, especially when he is hungry.
If excessive salivation occurs during sleep or regardless of the feeling of hunger and other factors, it may be associated with disturbances in the functioning of the body, and therefore requires mandatory diagnosis by a doctor. In addition, this is an aesthetic problem, which inevitably causes discomfort in communication and provokes the development of complexes.
Excessive drooling is scientifically called hypersalivation. It comes in the following types:
- true - characterized by too intense production of saliva under the influence of external or internal factors;
- false - the problem lies in the difficulties associated with swallowing it. There are a great many reasons for this: from disorders in the functioning of the brain to injuries in the maxillofacial apparatus.
Increased secretion of the salivary glands occurs in the morning, afternoon and night. So, for example, salivation in the morning is considered a natural phenomenon, but a symptom that occurs mainly at night most often indicates problems in the functioning of the stomach and intestines, and the presence of worms.
Before and during meals, intense production of fluid in the mouth only indicates an increased feeling of hunger and good appetite. When the phenomenon becomes paroxysmal, this may indicate emotional overload.
| Types of hypersalivation | |
| Name | Description |
| True | Intensive work of the salivary glands under the influence of one of the etiological factors. |
| False | Swallowing is impaired. This happens for a number of reasons: disorders in the brain; when the facial muscles are atrophied; when you lose the ability to close your mouth; if the lips are damaged as a result of injury or illness (tuberculosis). |
| Night | The main provocateurs of increased salivation are worms and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. |
| Daytime | When copious salivation occurs at almost the same time, suspicion falls on a serious disease (heart, blood vessels, kidneys, etc.). |
| Morning | Most often, this phenomenon is considered the norm. |
| During meals, before meals or after meals | Food signals to the brain are associated with feelings of hunger. With this urge, saliva is released profusely. If the phenomenon is observed after eating, then it is worth checking for the presence of parasites in the body. |
| Paroxysmal | The body's response to stress and emotional overload. Excessive excitability affects the functioning of the brain, as a result of which the functioning of the salivary glands is disrupted. |
| Constant | Excessive salivation occurs for several reasons: due to inflammation and irritation of the oral mucosa; in case of digestive disorders; with mumps or inflammation of the salivary glands; due to a foreign body in the mouth. |
What does traditional medicine offer?
In some situations, when the source of the problem is not such a serious pathology, traditional medicine helps reduce the intensity of the salivary glands. Here we must immediately make a reservation that such recipes can only be used after consulting a doctor and making an accurate diagnosis. So, let's look at the most effective tips.
Quince decoction
The fruit must be thoroughly washed, then cut into small pieces and placed in a pan. Pour quince with a liter of water and put on fire, boil until about half of the liquid has evaporated. After this, you need to add 50 g of sugar to the pan and continue cooking until it is completely dissolved. The decoction should be filtered and taken orally in small portions throughout the day.
Quince is often used for treatment
Infusions from healing herbs
Take one tablespoon each of nettle, St. John's wort and serpentine rhizome, mix together and pour 600 ml of boiling water. Next, the mixture needs to be put in a dark place and left there for at least a couple of hours - the product needs to infuse. After this, the tincture must be filtered and then used as a mouth rinse, preferably every time before meals.
Water pepper tincture
You need to take the pharmaceutical composition of water pepper, namely one teaspoon of the ingredient. Pour the product into a glass of warm water and use it as a mouth rinse after each meal. The course lasts on average about 10 days.
Chamomile decoction
Take one tablespoon of dried chamomile flowers and pour 50 ml of boiling water. Place the resulting substance in a dark place and let it brew for at least 40 minutes. After this, the broth should be filtered and then used to rinse the mouth 3-4 times a day.
Chamomile decoction helps well in treatment
Increased salivation in children
In newborn babies, salivation is normally absent due to the underdevelopment of the salivary gland apparatus. However, often a mother may notice how, in the first hours of a child’s life, a colorless liquid, very similar to saliva, is actively secreted from his mouth.
Most often, this is how amniotic fluid comes out, which the baby managed to swallow while passing through the birth canal. Normally, this phenomenon should stop a few hours after birth. If drooling continues longer, it is better to inform your pediatrician (neonatologist) about this in order to exclude serious health problems.
Note: In general, in the first year of life, increased salivation in a child is a normal process.
At the age of about 2 months, a baby may experience profuse salivation, caused by the fact that the salivary glands finally begin to work at full capacity. It is at this age that a child may need his first bib to protect his clothes from getting wet.
Active salivation begins at 2 months of age
Closer to 3 months, children become active explorers of the world around them and taste everything. They put fingers, toys and any other objects at hand into their mouths.
The baby's body becomes acquainted with new microflora, which leads to increased secretion of saliva, which performs a protective function when various bacteria are removed from the oral cavity along with the fluid flowing out of the mouth.
The next time hypersalivation may bother the child during teething, closer to 6 months, and lasts up to 2 years. It is important to note that older children should not suffer from hypersalivation.
If a problem does exist, this may indicate certain disorders, for example, diseases of the nervous system, brain injury, worms, which is why it is extremely important to consult a specialist.
Causes of increased salivation in adults
Hypersalivation in adults is most often a pathology caused by a number of diseases. Moreover, it occurs with equal frequency in both men and women. Increased salivation always accompanies infectious and inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity and pharynx - stomatitis, gingivitis, periodontitis, sore throat, acute respiratory viral infections.
Stomatitis is an inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa. As a rule, with this disease, the entire oral mucosa is covered with painful ulcers. As a result, it becomes painful to swallow, so the person stops swallowing the resulting saliva.
Gingivitis is no exception, leading to hypersalivation. This disease is characterized by inflammation of the gums. Whether with stomatitis or gingivitis, increased salivation is a protective function in diseases of the oral cavity, allowing timely removal of infectious agents, their toxins and tissue decay products.
This is also why excessive salivation is a sign of an incipient cold. Strong salivation in this case develops in response to mechanical irritation of the nerve endings of the oral cavity.
Disruption of digestive processes. Increased acidity of gastric juice, inflammation and irritation of its mucous membrane can cause a reflex increase in salivation and constant moderate hypersalivation.
With such diseases, increased salivation develops gradually and the patient gets used to the increased amount of saliva, not paying attention to the inconveniences associated with this condition. From the gastrointestinal tract, microorganisms can easily enter the oral cavity, where they irritate the salivary glands and gums and provoke the gradual development of hypersalivation.
Since it develops slowly, a person does not notice excess saliva production. An accurate diagnosis can only be made after fibrogastroduodenoscopy, because the symptoms of these diseases are similar.
With an ulcer, salivation is accompanied by pain and nausea, and most often this occurs on an empty stomach; with gastritis, heaviness and pain appear immediately after eating. Duodenitis leads to the same symptoms, but 1-2 hours after eating. Also, increased salivation in men and women can be observed in acute pancreatitis, caused by excessive production of enzymes by the pancreas.
If bitter belching is added, especially in the morning, the liver and gall bladder should be checked. Saliva can also accumulate in the mouth when there is esophageal spasm, scarring, or tumors that make swallowing difficult.
Involuntary secretion of saliva occurs with facial paralysis (this can also be a symptom after a stroke); in this case, the person cannot swallow at all, even liquid food. Paralysis of the muscular system in the maxillofacial area is a consequence of damage to the facial nerve.
Pathologies of the nervous system. Hypersalivation can also be caused by diseases associated with the central nervous system. Such pathologies include cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease and its initial stage, irritation of the trigeminal nerve, as well as ailments that cause frequent nausea, such as migraines.
Patients may have problems with swallowing and nasal breathing that are not under their control. Often such patients complain of salivation when talking, which interferes with normal communication with others. A similar situation arises against the background of malfunctions of the vestibular apparatus.
FGDS helps to understand the causes of increased salivation
The main symptom of pseudobulbar or bulbar syndromes. This disease is characterized by damage to the cerebral cortex. As a rule, the amount of saliva produced directly depends on the severity of the disease. With poliomyelitis, syringobulbia or vascular pathologies, patients also experience hypersalivation.
Disorders of the thyroid gland. When the hormonal balance is disrupted, all functions of the organs and systems of the body are disrupted. The symptom can be triggered by diabetes mellitus or hormonal changes - during menopause or puberty.
Chemical poisoning, long-term use of potent medications. The symptom is often caused by long-term drug therapy with potent drugs. The most common drugs that have this effect are nitrazepam, pilocarpine, muscarine, physostigmine and lithium. After stopping the course, the secretion of the salivary glands returns to normal.
Note: It happens that the cause of all troubles is poisoning with iodine, mercury or pesticides.
Causes of hypersalivation in men
Increased salivation in men can be caused by all of the reasons listed above, but there is one more factor. As a rule, men are more likely than women to abuse bad habits, among which smoking and drinking alcohol are the leading ones. Inhaling smoke containing nicotine and tar has a negative impact on the condition of the oral cavity.
The mucous membrane is constantly injured. To reduce irritation, the salivary glands reflexively begin to produce more fluid - this increases the amount of saliva produced. Because of this, hypersalivation is especially common among smokers. If a person quits smoking, then salivation, after a certain time, returns to normal.
Why do women salivate?
For many women, the cause of hypersalivation is pregnancy, or more precisely, the resulting toxicosis. According to experts, it is in the early stages of pregnancy that many women notice primary signs of hypersalivation.
Increased salivation may accompany early toxicosis of pregnancy
The thing is that a woman is constantly trying to suppress attacks of nausea and vomiting, thereby she begins to involuntarily swallow less often. As a result, there is a feeling that there is actually more saliva than there should be. Heartburn often accompanies increased salivation during pregnancy.
In this case, the body conditionally receives a signal to soften the acid with saliva, which, due to its high bicarbonate content, is classified as an alkaline environment. Sometimes hypersalivation occurs due to the same factors as in ordinary adults. In such a situation, pregnant women are advised to inform their doctor about this to rule out obvious causes of the problem.
Another reason for increased salivation in women is the onset of menopause. In this case, it is accompanied by severe sweating and frequent flushes of blood. This is a natural process that will gradually disappear.
Pathogenesis
The mechanisms of development of hypersalivation in adults are different. Most often, this process is based on reflex/direct stimulation of the salivary center in the medulla oblongata, which is represented by the superior/inferior salivary nuclei (nuclei of the facial/glossopharyngeal nerves) from which cholinergic efferent impulses spread directly to the salivary glands along the parasympathetic nerve fibers. An increase in cholinergic effects is accompanied by dilation of the vessels of the salivary glands with the gradual development of hypersialia.
The increase in cholinergic effects on salivary secretion processes has a complex genesis and can be caused by both the development of primary pathology in the structures of the central nervous system and local primary/secondary pathology of bulbar structures. The causes of primary disorders may include tumors, injuries to the medulla oblongata, atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels, peripheral circulatory disorders occurring in infectious-allergic diseases, neuroviral infections ( rabies , poliomyelitis , epidemic poliomyelitis ). Secondary lesions of the structures of the medulla oblongata can occur with syphilis , influenza , periarteritis nodosa , parkinsonism syndrome , tuberculosis . In this case, both the nuclei of the cranial nerves and the pyramidal tracts are affected.
In addition to damage directly to the center of salivation, the mechanism of salivation disorders may be due to damage to the peripheral nerves/their branches (glossopharyngeal, facial, trigeminal petrosal nerves) innervating the salivary glands. Damage to these structures is manifested by the involvement of the axial cylinder/nerve sheath in the pathological process by the development of demyelination and degeneration of the nerve fiber. This is facilitated by bacterial/viral infections, hypothermia, vitamin metabolic disorders , injuries, etc.
Increased salivation can also be facilitated by local stimulation of the secretory function of the salivary glands, caused by the inflammatory process in the structures of the oral cavity, since it is accompanied by the release of alteration mediators ( leukotrienes , histamine , prostaglandins ) and ondotogenic factors with the involvement of parasympathetic autonomic fibers/trigeminal nerve nodes in the pathological process.
Increased saliva production during sleep
When a person sleeps, saliva production slows down and becomes less intense. But sometimes the salivary glands “wake up” before their owner, and then in the morning you can find a wet spot on the pillowcase. If this is only a periodic phenomenon, there is nothing to be afraid of (for example, when a person has a runny nose or a cold).
However, such a symptom can also be the result of an incorrect bite or loss of part of the teeth - here you need the help of a dentist. Normally, in a healthy person, salivation decreases sharply at night. A couple of drops of saliva on the pillow in the morning is just evidence that the body woke up earlier than its owner.
Factors that provoke excessive salivation during sleep:
- mouth breathing;
- malocclusion, in which the mouth remains open at night - for example, with open, mesial and distal bites;
- sleep disturbances - for example, too deep sleep, similar to an unconscious state, during which control over the body is completely lost.
A wet pillow in the morning can be either normal or a symptom of a serious illness.
Complications and prevention
The consequences of ignoring such a symptom can be:
Symptoms of salivary gland disease
- violation of adequate taste perception, food aversion;
- sudden weight loss;
- dehydration of the body;
- psycho-emotional disorders, insomnia;
- deterioration of the condition and color of the skin due to the constant influence of saliva and the bacteria in it;
- infectious lesions.
In order to prevent pathologies that provoke increased salivation, it is recommended to follow the following rules:
- perform hygiene procedures in a timely manner, including the oral cavity;
- once every six months, undergo a preventive examination at the dentist, have your teeth professionally cleaned;
- review your diet, use more fresh vegetables and fruits to enrich the body with vitamins and microelements (you should give up salty, smoked and fatty foods);
- lead an active lifestyle, relax in nature, visit fitness centers;
- to refuse from bad habits.
If excessive salivation is a symptom of any disease, you need to undergo medication prescribed by your doctor. Eliminating the problem in this case depends on complete recovery.
A healthy lifestyle is an excellent prevention of increased salivation
How to get rid of hypersalivation
It is important to visit a doctor in time for examination, to identify the cause of drooling and adequate treatment. To establish the exact cause, it is necessary to undergo a comprehensive examination. The doctor collects the patient’s life history, symptoms, his working conditions, the presence of bad habits and possible diseases. The dentist carefully examines the oral cavity and identifies diseases of the mucous membrane, teeth or gums. If the specialist did not find any abnormalities and it turned out that salivation is related to physiology, then salivation can be reduced thanks to:
- fighting bad habits;
- eliminating spicy and salty foods from the diet;
- drinking quince juice;
- rinsing the mouth with herbal decoctions - chamomile, oak bark and sage;
- trying to sleep on your back and not on your side;
- caring for the nasal cavity - before going to bed, it is advisable to rinse it with saline or sea water, breathe over essential oils (camphor or eucalyptus).
Diagnostics
Initially, with complaints of increased salivation, the patient should contact a therapist or pediatrician. If necessary, other highly specialized specialists are involved in the diagnostic search: neurologist, phlebologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, infectious disease specialist, oncologist, gastroenterologist, dentist.
The survey usually involves the following steps:
- External examination, finding out in a conversation with the patient or his relatives about the time of the problem, the presence of concomitant diseases, and other signs of the disease.
- Exclusion of other pathologies, the symptom of which may be hypersalivation. In children, it is important to distinguish ptyalism, as a symptom of teething, from ARVI.
- Identifying signs confirming the disease. For this purpose, laboratory blood tests, functional tests, and bacteriological seeding of biological material are carried out.
- Hardware diagnostic methods include X-ray, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound scanning of the affected organ, electroencephalography of the heart, and Doppler ultrasound of blood vessels.
- Additional examination by a dentist, psychiatrist and neurologist to identify possible indirect causes.
