Taste of acetone in the mouth

Content:

1. The main causes of the smell of acetone from the mouth 1.1. Hunger 1.2. Alcohol poisoning 1.3. Physical fatigue 1.4. Acetonemic syndrome 1.5. Gestation period 1.6. Diabetes mellitus 1.7. Ketoacidosis 1.8. Thyrotoxicosis 1.9. Liver diseases 1.10. Kidney diseases 1.11. Schizophrenia
2. Other causes of the problem
3. Diagnostic measures

If your breath smells like acetone (dimethyl ketone), you should think about your health. This is a dangerous symptom that occurs in a variety of diseases. Normally, the acetone smell should not come from a person. Therefore, it is important to identify why it appeared and what can be done to get rid of it.

The main causes of acetone odor from the mouth

The unpleasant odor of acetone from the mouth may be a consequence of:

• poor nutrition, prolonged fasting;
• acute alcohol poisoning;
• physical fatigue;
• acetonemic syndrome;
• pregnancy;
• diabetes mellitus;
• ketoacidosis;
• thyrotoxicosis;
• severe disturbances in the functioning of the liver and kidneys;
• schizophrenia.

Let's look at each reason in more detail.

Hunger

If you follow a low-carbohydrate diet for a long time, the body will begin to use up reserves of proteins and fats as sources of energy. With the active breakdown of lipids, ketone bodies are formed. They are responsible for the taste of acetone in the mouth.

The symptom is especially pronounced in the morning, immediately after waking up . If a person does not stop fasting, his urine will also begin to smell.

Alcohol poisoning

As a result of alcohol intoxication, many biochemical reactions begin to proceed incorrectly. Catabolic processes come to the fore. Ketone components are actively synthesized. Then in the morning after a feast, the addict is faced with an unpleasant acetone aroma.

Physical fatigue

An increase in the level of ketone bodies is often observed in professional athletes and people involved in strength sports. Their body actively breaks down fats to get an additional portion of energy. This is the reason for the increase in dimethyl ketone concentration.

If an unpleasant symptom persists for several days in a row, you cannot ignore it. It is recommended to visit a doctor and undergo laboratory tests.

Acetonemic syndrome

Most often, this condition is found in preschool children. The child is very nauseous and vomits periodically. He becomes lethargic, passive, pale, refuses to eat, and sleeps poorly. The patient smells strongly of acetone.

Often acetone syndrome is caused by severe viral and infectious diseases , fever, and dehydration. If it develops, you should urgently consult a pediatrician.

Pregnancy period

While carrying a child, the load placed on a woman’s body increases many times over. Important hormonal changes occur. Some expectant mothers experience changes in their sense of taste in the first trimester. They begin to smell dimethyl ketone when they eat or drink something.

There is no need to worry about such changes. As a rule, they go away on their own along with toxicosis. But you still need to notify your obstetrician-gynecologist about strange sensations.

Diabetes

The smell can occur during a long and complex course of the disease. This symptom is not characteristic of the initial period of diabetes. At the same time, the patient begins to suffer due to a constant feeling of thirst, drying out of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, and decreased appetite.

Ketoacidosis

A dangerous complication of diabetes. It is characterized by a rapid increase in the concentration of ketone bodies against the background of cessation of insulin production. This can happen with a fever, and also if a person forgot to take the next insulin injection, the day before he worked a lot and hard.

The situation with this diagnosis worsens gradually. First, the patient notices that he constantly feels the taste of dimethyl ketone. His thirst increases. Then weakness appears and breathing quickens. It is important not to wait for the complication to progress and to seek medical help as soon as possible.

Thyrotoxicosis

With thyrotoxicosis, the content of thyroxine in the blood increases. As a result, the breakdown of protein structures in the human body is activated. A strange chemical taste appears in the mouth, which disappears temporarily after brushing your teeth. If the patient drinks little and eats poorly, the manifestations of the disease become more obvious.

Liver diseases

The liver is the natural filter of the human body. It is responsible for neutralizing toxins and harmful substances, removing incompletely oxidized metabolic products.

If severe liver disease has developed, a specific acetone taste very often occurs. He is accompanied by:

• weakness;
• nausea;
• pain in the right hypochondrium;
• constipation or, conversely, diarrhea.

Among the main liver disorders in which the aroma of acetone appears are:

• Viral diseases. Among them: hepatitis B and C, cytomegalovirus infection.
• Failure in the functioning of the liver parenchyma due to severe intoxication of the body.
• Liver failure, Reye's syndrome, drug overdose.

Kidney diseases

With kidney problems, the body cannot normally eliminate toxic ketone substances. Then the taste of dimethyl ketone remains permanently. There is a failure of nitrogen metabolism. The patient's appetite worsens and nausea appears.

People who have been diagnosed with acute renal failure often complain of an acetone taste. Then, in addition to a strange discomfort, urination becomes rare and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity dry out.

Schizophrenia

Very often, patients with schizophrenia complain about unpleasant acetone symptoms. This symptom is associated with an obsession with poisoning - it seems to a schizophrenic that they are trying to poison him.

What diseases does the feeling of acetone in the mouth indicate?

Most often, the taste of acetone appears in the morning and does not come even after thorough brushing of the teeth. This symptom appears due to the following reasons:

• low carbohydrate diet;
• prolonged fasting;
• pregnancy;
• kidney or liver disease;
• alcohol abuse;
• significant physical activity;
• acetonemic syndrome;
• diabetes;
• accumulation of ketone compounds;
• high level of thyroxine in the blood;
• mental disorders;
• neurodegenerative diseases.

It is unlikely that you will be able to independently determine the reasons for the unpleasant taste. If a symptom persists for a long time, you should definitely consult a doctor and undergo all necessary diagnostics.

Some of these diseases can cause an alcohol taste in the mouth. This happens because our brain tries to adapt unfamiliar tastes to familiar ones. This is how the taste of acetone becomes the taste of alcohol.

Abdrakhmanov Alexander Ravilievich

general practitioner, candidate of medical sciences

If nausea and vomiting develop against the background of an unpleasant taste, and the general condition rapidly worsens, this is a reason to consult a doctor as soon as possible.

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Other causes of the problem

Negative symptoms may result from:

• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• damage to blood vessels;
• severe pregnancy;
• infections;
• "fasting" days.

The reasons can be very different and most often, without medical help, a person cannot understand what is wrong. Therefore, you should not self-medicate and experiment with your own health. The most reasonable thing is to see a doctor and get blood and urine tests.

Diagnostic measures

Diagnostic features depend on the preliminary diagnosis. The patient may be asked:

• Pass the UAC and BAK. Based on their results, it will be possible to understand whether there is an inflammatory process and whether the kidneys and liver are functioning normally.
• Donate blood for hormones. First of all, insulin levels are always determined to confirm or deny the presence of diabetes. Women may have their blood taken to determine hCG, progesterone, and estrogen.
• Undergo an ultrasound examination. During an ultrasound, the condition of the kidneys, liver, and pancreas is checked.
• Get a computed tomography scan of the abdomen and an MRI of the brain.

In each specific case, the diagnostic package is unique. A personal approach allows the doctor to immediately make the correct diagnosis and select effective treatment for the patient. The fight against acetone odor is always aimed at eliminating the root cause. Therefore, there cannot be a single scheme for overcoming an uncomfortable symptom.

Which doctor should I contact and what tests should I take for these symptoms?

The appearance of acetone taste in the mouth is a reason to make an appointment as soon as possible with a general practitioner if the taste has appeared in adults, or with a pediatrician if a child complains of this symptom.

The doctor will take a history - find out how you eat, what diseases you or your child have had, what other symptoms bother you and when taste is best. After this, he will prescribe the necessary tests and instrumental studies:

• general blood analysis;
• biochemical blood test to determine liver and kidney function;
• Analysis of urine;
• stool analysis;
• determination of hormone levels to exclude thyroid pathologies;
• determination of sugar and ketone bodies levels;
• blood test for major toxins;
• pregnancy test;
• Ultrasound of the abdominal and pelvic organs;
• MRI of the brain;
• CT and X-ray;
• consultation with a psychiatrist and narcologist.

After differentiating the diagnosis, the patient is referred for consultation and treatment to a specialized specialist. For example, see an endocrinologist for thyroid dysfunction or metabolic disorders, a nephrologist for kidney pathology, a gastroenterologist for problems with the liver or intestines.

Treatment is prescribed based on the reason for the unpleasant taste.

Thus, infusion solutions are prescribed to normalize blood composition, insulin and diet are prescribed to correct diabetes mellitus, and thyreostatics are prescribed to reduce thyroxine levels. Therapy continues until complete recovery.

They also help the patient establish proper nutrition. Thus, supporters of a low-carbohydrate diet and keto diet are given recommendations on the required quantity and quality of carbohydrates in the diet. They also suggest adjusting your water regime and not consuming more fluids than your body needs. In some cases, rinses are recommended to help get rid of discomfort.