Increased salivation (hypersalivation) in children: a problem for doctors and parents.

• Why is there so much saliva?
• Saliva and its functions
• How to help your baby
• Baby care
• If the abundance of saliva scares you

Just yesterday your little one was a cute baby, but today he suddenly started blowing bubbles.
What happened, why is your mouth watering so much that you don’t have time to wipe it off? What should I do: call a doctor or is it not dangerous and will they go away on their own? With the birth of a child, a mother has new questions every day. Before, there were no tears when I cried. Then you need to wipe your mouth, clean your ears, but it’s scary to get hurt. Now suddenly my mouth started watering, and for some reason so much. There are many questions, let's consult a pediatrician.

Why is there so much saliva?

Your newborn is growing, becoming large, and reaching two to three months of age. At this stage of development, the salivary glands form and begin to work. Therefore, excessive drooling is normal.

During this same period, the baby becomes more active. The child explores and tastes everything that surrounds him. Therefore, the body produces a protective antibacterial environment - saliva, which washes away dirt that gets into the small mouth.

The newborn has already drooled, but the baby still does not know how to swallow it, so streams flow down his chin. Parents are frightened by such profuse drooling. If the saliva is clear, not foamy, not thick, not stringy, experienced mothers do not worry. Mothers know that this is a normal state for a baby at this age.

Physiological causes of regurgitation

• short esophagus or ball-shaped esophagus;
• the esophagus becomes wider in the upper part (has the shape of a funnel);
• the esophagus is narrowed (this process is normal, according to physiology);
• The gastric sphincter is underdeveloped. This is a temporary phenomenon (due to age).

The muscular corset of the stomach is still weak, and the mucous membranes are quite sensitive. That is why, when food enters the stomach, its bottom begins to produce contractile movements. As the pressure level increases, food makes its way back into the oral cavity from the esophagus.

Saliva and its functions

Saliva is necessary for the body at any age. In the oral cavity, under the tongue, on the inside of the cheeks, behind the lower teeth, there are salivary glands. They work constantly, producing up to two liters of fluid per day for an adult.

Saliva takes care of maintaining pH in the desired state, preventing the formation of tartar and caries. Saliva destroys harmful microorganisms, thereby preventing unpleasant odor in the mouth.

Saliva is involved in processing and digesting food. Salivary enzymes help break down and digest substances and produce glucose from starch.

This liquid softens and liquefies food for better digestion. Without saliva, taste buds do not work.

In newborn babies, saliva performs many tasks related to digestion and protection. Protective functions of saliva in a baby’s life:

• Protection of the oral cavity from the colonization and proliferation of pathogenic microbes and bacteria.
• Protection and lubrication of mucous membranes from irritation and damage.
• Protecting mucous membranes from dehydration and drying out during swallowing, chewing, and talking.
• Cleaning the oral cavity from foreign bacteria and food debris.

In addition to protective functions, saliva performs a number of other tasks. It plays a great role in matters of nutrition and the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. The enzymes it contains are responsible for the initial processing of starch. And tongue lipase helps infants digest milk. It is saliva that forms the sense of taste by helping taste buds dissolve solids in food.

In the future, the gums will swell, become inflamed, the teeth will feel, saliva will soften the pain and protect the wounds from infection. And when the teeth erupt, saliva will maintain the integrity of the tooth enamel by treating it with calcium, phosphate, and fluoride dissolved in it.

Functions of saliva

Firstly, it is involved in the digestion of food, making it softer and helping it move through the esophagus. The enzymes contained in saliva are capable of breaking down starch and fats. Thus, food enters the stomach already partially digested.

Secondly, saliva plays a protective role, preventing the mouth from drying out and having a bactericidal effect. It helps to wash away food debris, and with it bacteria. Saliva neutralizes many acids and alkalis, protecting tooth enamel from their aggressive effects. It is also able to strengthen the enamel, nourishing it with important microelements (fluorine, phosphorus, calcium).

Thirdly, it helps make teething less painful by reducing inflammation in the gums. And finally, in the first months of a baby’s life, saliva has a special viscosity, which makes breastfeeding easier during natural feeding.

How to help your baby

Parents will have to come to terms with and go through the period of slobbering toddler. It is unpleasant for the baby to be slobbery, so parents take special care and care for the baby at this time.

It’s not in vain, apparently, that our great-grandmothers invented bibs for babies. Bibs will help now: the fabric absorbs liquid, blouses remain dry, the skin on the neck and chest is also dry.

Sometimes a baby drools so much when lying down that he chokes and simply choke on it. He may experience a cough, even wheezing. To prevent your child from getting into trouble, place him on his side or tummy, or you can put him on a low pillow. So, the drool will flow down and will not harm the baby.

If a baby sucks on a pacifier, he is able to swallow his saliva. When going for a walk, give your baby a pacifier. Using a pacifier is another way to cope with the problem.

Soon the time for teething comes, the baby's gums itch and itch, he constantly chews something to relieve the itching. Help him, massage his gums with your finger. And in the places where the first teeth appear, press lightly. On the doctor's recommendation, buy a special product and lightly lubricate the gums with it, this will calm the baby.

Baby care

Excessive salivation requires increased care from parents. Mothers stock up on handkerchiefs or soft napkins to wipe the newborn's mouth and chin.

Even with constant wetting of the chin, dripping drool causes redness, peeling, and a rash on the skin around the mouth and on the chin. Knowledgeable mothers advise using baby cream and lubricating irritated areas several times a day until the skin is restored.

Your doctor will tell you which creams and ointments to relieve irritation on your child’s skin. You need to lubricate delicate skin with the prescribed products very carefully, in a thin layer, so as not to cause even more irritation.

Acceptable frequency of regurgitation.

As a rule, they indicate a frequency of 6-8 times a day in small portions; you can also find data on regurgitation 2-5 times a day and a volume of ⅔ tablespoons. If the number of regurgitations increases, fever, and vomiting appear, contact your pediatrician. If weakness is added, this is a reason to call an ambulance.

Especially close attention is required when spitting up like a fountain. You need to offer the child water and carry it in a column. If the regurgitation was a one-time occurrence, there is no need to worry.

If the abundance of saliva scares you

Usually, a 2-3 month old baby begins to produce copious amounts of saliva as the salivary glands begin to function. The second stage, which decorates the little one with bubbles, is the period of teething.

During colds and other diseases of the ENT organs, with allergic reactions to house dust or animals, when the nose does not breathe, the baby has to open his mouth. In such cases, the amount of saliva that can drain from the mouth increases. Consult a doctor, eliminate the cause, and the amount of saliva will return to normal.

The causes of excessive leakage may be gastrointestinal diseases. And also if the baby does not know how to close his mouth tightly. It must be said that when affected by an oral disease such as thrush, saliva partially loses its functions. In particular, the digestion of starch into glucose stops. The absence or insufficiency of sugars in the body of infants will negatively affect their development. Therefore, during your daily morning toilet, look into your baby’s mouth, and if you have any suspicions, contact your pediatrician.

But if there is too much saliva, it is of a different color, type or consistency, if the abundance of discharge scares you, be sure to consult a pediatrician. If necessary, after a thorough examination and tests, the pediatrician will refer you to another specialist. An ENT specialist, a neurologist, a dentist, and a surgeon can help.

Using saliva analysis, the doctor will make the correct diagnosis. If the baby has problems of an endocrine nature or in the adrenal cortex, a saliva test will show the disease. To obtain accurate data, saliva is tested several times during the day. It is not difficult, painless, and will show the right result.

If the baby is healthy, the period of drooling will soon stop, the baby's mouth and chin will be dry.

When a baby begins to put not only his fists into his mouth, but also all objects that he is able to reach, the first thought of the parents is that teeth are coming out. The eruption of baby teeth in young children is often accompanied by increased salivation. This is not the only reason for the occurrence of such symptoms, however, due to the prevailing stereotype, most mothers of children in their first year of life do not try to understand why the baby’s gums are itchy and eliminate the source of severe discomfort.

Drooling at 2–3 months

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.

The mother also needs to very carefully monitor the condition of the child’s skin, especially the area around the lips and chin. Excessive saliva can irritate baby's delicate skin. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to lubricate the area around the mouth with baby cream or Vaseline.

Inflammation of the submandibular salivary gland

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. At this age, increased saliva production can also occur against the background of an acute respiratory disease.

Breathing through the nose becomes difficult, and the child has to breathe through the mouth. This causes the nasopharynx to dry out and reflexively release a larger amount of saliva than usual, which moisturizes the air and disinfects it.

Drooling and chewing of fists during teething

It is teething that most often provokes the appearance of itching and painful sensations in the oral cavity in infants. At the same time, the child is drooling in bubbles, he constantly holds his fists in his mouth. As a rule, this process begins at the beginning of the 6th month of life, but often the first symptoms appear at 2-3 months of age, and sometimes earlier. The advancement of the first molars in the gums may be accompanied by an increase in body temperature, disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract, and increased excitability. However, the main sign of the appearance of teeth is swelling and swelling of the baby’s soft gum tissue.

Causes of increased salivation in children

Excessive drooling is scientifically called hypersalivation. In children, there are clearly visible age periods when it can occur most intensely.

Important! There is a distinction between true and false hypersalivation.

True hypersalivation is caused by malfunctions of the salivary glands, and false hypersalivation (also called reflex) in childhood is associated with more serious disorders in which swallowing saliva becomes less frequent.

For example, if the sensorimotor arc malfunctions, the interaction between the brain and the oral cavity is difficult. The child's number of spontaneous swallows is reduced, which creates the appearance of profuse drooling. Depending on the age, the causes of increased salivation in children may be different.

Causes of drooling can be physiological and pathological

Cause: oral diseases (stomatitis, thrush)

If the baby constantly sucks his fists, and increased salivation is accompanied by an increase in body temperature, a white coating is clearly visible on the tongue, gums and mucous membranes, you should immediately consult a doctor. These symptoms indicate damage to the oral cavity by a fungus of the genus Candida. Factors contributing to the appearance of thrush in children:

• Sugar consumption. The baby can receive it both from baby food (manufacturers often use artificial sweeteners to improve taste) and from breast milk (if the mother’s diet contains refined foods, sweets and preservatives in large quantities).
• Decreased immunity. Thrush in infants often accompanies infectious diseases.
• Poor hygiene. Pathogenic fungi enter the body of a two to three month old baby with dirty nipples and toys, as well as if he puts dirty fingers or fists in his mouth.
• Taking antibiotics. They destroy bacteria that prevent the growth and reproduction of pathogens.

Often children at 2-4 months drool continuously due to stomatitis. With this pathology, blisters and ulcers appear on the oral mucosa. Babies may refuse to eat due to severe pain.

Neurological disorders

In rare cases, excessive salivation indicates neurological disorders (cerebral palsy, various abnormalities in the functioning of the central nervous system). In this case, the following are observed:

Such conditions are diagnosed by specialists in the first months of a baby’s life and require serious and long-term therapy. Excessive drooling is a secondary symptom.

Parents should regularly wipe their baby's chin, neck and chest to avoid skin irritation. If your child constantly sucks his fist or keeps his fingers in his mouth, you need to keep his hands clean. If possible, you should disinfect all objects that he may lick. The lack of necessary hygiene measures leads to the entry of pathogenic microorganisms into the body, weakened by the underlying disease. The development of an infectious process can significantly worsen the baby’s condition.

Beginning ARVI

Sometimes excessive salivation, accompanied by regular attempts by the baby to put his fingers and fists in his mouth, indicates the onset of an infectious disease such as ARVI, flu, sore throat, etc. In this case, the child has a fever, nasal congestion or mucus discharge from the sinuses. Many babies begin to sneeze and cough.

The main function of saliva is protection against pathogenic microbes and bacteria. This is what causes the increased activity of the salivary glands in babies 2-4 months of age against the background of the onset of ARVI and other inflammatory processes localized in the oral cavity.

In this case, the main help lies in the fight against the causative agent of the disease. The cleanliness of the baby’s hands, pacifiers and toys should be taken with special care during this period, as there is a high risk of harmful microorganisms being introduced into the baby’s body.

Normal indicators

From the first days after birth, children develop salivary fluid. During this period, its task is to protect the oral cavity from the penetration of infectious agents.

At 1–1.5 months, the reason for active salivation is somewhat different. At this age, babies have not fully developed their swallowing reflex. The salivary glands are overactive and the baby simply does not understand what to do with the changed amount of fluid. Using the tongue, the toddler pushes excess mucous fluid out. Parents have no choice but to make sure that the child does not choke. At 2 months, salivary rivers flowing with the same intensity are also the norm.

At the age of 3-4 months, the baby should stop drooling profusely. If this does not happen, carefully examine the oral cavity; perhaps the baby has begun teething. When teething occurs, the gums swell and drool begins to flow with renewed vigor.

Excessive or insufficient secretion of fluid from the oral cavity often accompanies infants with defects of the jaw apparatus, congenital anomalies of the salivary glands, and hypoplasia. Such children need special attention and supervision from a doctor.

How to relieve the condition of a baby who is drooling?

If a newborn constantly drools a lot, it is not only unhygienic, but also dangerous due to the appearance of irritation on the baby’s delicate skin. The most effective way to combat excess moisture in the mouth, neck and chest is to constantly dry your baby with a dry towel or napkin. In addition, you can use bibs. They will help protect your clothes from getting wet. What should you do if, despite all your efforts, heat rash still appears? You can relieve discomfort with Bepanten cream. It should be applied to clean, dry skin several times a day.

When a baby drools while lying on his back, he may choke or choke on it. You can avoid such consequences by turning the baby on its side and placing a cushion under the backrest. This way he won't be able to roll over in his sleep. A pacifier will also help to swallow drool, as the baby swallows the liquid accumulated in the mouth while sucking it.

During the first year of life, a child sucks his fists for many reasons. These are psychological aspects (this is how he calms himself down), and itching of the gums during teething, and irritation caused by various infectious diseases of the oral cavity. In order to help your baby get rid of unpleasant and painful sensations, pediatricians recommend massaging his gums. This can be done using special attachments or your fingers. Hands must first be washed and disinfected.

In addition, you can choose a dental gel with a cooling effect. Such products are sold without a prescription in pharmacies. They are applied to the gums and lightly rubbed into the mucous membrane. They not only relieve itching and have an analgesic effect, but also disinfect the oral cavity.

After a newborn is born, he develops and matures every day. And parents watch with affection the changes in the child. However, there are a number of phenomena that may alarm happy mothers. These include increased salivation. Perhaps no one would pay attention to the fact that a two- or three-month-old child’s drool is flowing almost in streams. But no mother can calmly look at the consequences of increased salivation in a child. Irritation of the chin and diaper rash in the folds of the neck make parents seriously think about the reasons for the increase in the amount of saliva in the baby. This phenomenon is most often observed when the child is 3 months old. Drooling occurs during this period for a number of reasons, the main one being banal teething. However, there are more alarming factors that can cause a child to drool in bubbles.

Baby drools profusely - reasons

To understand whether you should panic and run to a doctor for help, or whether the baby will stop drooling on its own after a while, you need to know what caused the drooling. The main reasons why a two-month or three-month-old baby drools:

1. . As mentioned earlier, if you notice that your baby is drooling a lot, this may mean that his teeth will soon appear. This period can begin as early as two months and last for one and a half years. You may not immediately see the relationship between excessive saliva and teething. After all, the baby feels their advancement deep in the gums, and this gives him discomfort and pain. And saliva is a natural anti-inflammatory agent that the body uses to try to alleviate gum inflammation. In this case, it is useless and impossible to combat increased salivation. Therefore, all that remains for you is to wait for the end of this period, alleviating the suffering of your baby. To do this, lubricate the baby’s gums with special gels and offer to chew on special rubber toys (rodents). If the baby experiences less pain, then less saliva will be produced.
2. Increased activity of the salivary glands. Since the salivary glands of a newborn baby are not fully formed, they may experience interruptions in their functioning for the first few months of the baby’s life. As a result, saliva begins to be released in huge quantities, which is difficult for the child to swallow, and he drools out. This phenomenon occurs quite rarely and usually goes away quickly. Therefore, there is no need to panic.
3. The baby's body fights bacteria. Everyone knows that already a two-month-old baby is trying to taste everything. It is impossible to make every object surrounding it completely sterile, so there is always a risk of developing a disease such as stomatitis. In this case, with the help of saliva, the body tries to cleanse itself of uninvited guests, washing away germs and bacteria. This is where parents complain that their child has begun to drool heavily.
4. Hypersalivation. I would like to express my hope that you will encounter this term exclusively in this article. After all, it indicates that the child has more serious diseases, which include disruption of the nervous system, brain diseases and the formation of tumors. Only a specialist can identify hypersalivation, so do not try to independently detect incoordination of movements in your baby. After all, it is impossible for an ordinary person to do this in a newborn.

The reason for the increased salivation does not in any way determine how much the baby suffers from the consequences of constant dampness of the chin. Therefore, parents should know how to prevent them in a timely manner.

Other reasons

Along with physiological reasons for increased salivation, there are others that require immediate consultation with a pediatrician:

• little man can't breathe through his nose? His temperature rose, and his drool started flowing like a river? Most likely, the baby caught the virus;
• Another fairly common reason for increased salivation is allergies. Pollen, dust, detergents and cleaning products used in the home, as well as pets can act as a sensitizing substance. Associated symptoms of allergic rhinitis are a stuffy nose, red eyes, as well as coughing and sneezing;
• Sometimes the causes of the “drooling” period are disturbances in the functioning of the endocrine system, thyroid disease. In this case, excessive salivation is accompanied by such manifestations as a constantly open mouth, thickening of the tongue and its loss from the mouth;
• If a 2-month-old baby is drooling, in some situations you will have to immediately contact a neurologist. But such a need is indicated not by increased salivation in itself, but by a pulsating fontanel, incessant crying, as well as a lag in psychophysical development (the little one does not hold his head, does not lift it from a lying position, etc.).

How to help your child

Despite the fact that most of the causes of increased salivation in infants cannot be corrected, every mother wants to help her child survive a problematic period in his life. This can be done.

1. Keep your child's clothes dry. If saliva is released in large quantities, tie him a waterproof “bib”. This way you will save your baby from discomfort and irritation in the neck area.
2. When going for walks, offer your baby a pacifier, which will make it easier for him to swallow saliva.
3. If your baby is teething, do not limit yourself to simply lubricating the gums with gels. Try to scratch and massage your gums with your finger as often as possible. Just remember that you must wash your hands thoroughly before this procedure.

If your baby grows and develops correctly, then the appearance of increased drooling cannot be avoided. Therefore, the main thing for parents to remember is that all this is short-term, and after a few months you won’t even remember how you had to constantly wipe your baby’s chin and change his clothes. And in order not to get lost in guesswork and make diagnoses yourself, it is better to immediately ask your local pediatrician for advice. Then both you and your baby will be calm.