Dry Mouth

How can she treat this? She says her tongue feels burned and that her saliva feels acid-y. Her mouth and lips feel dry. This started a week ago. Thanks in advance.

The burning mouth syndrome remedies will depend on what is causing them and the way to relieve this discomfort is to counteract these factors. This syndrome can be brought about because of deficiencies, nerve problems, a dry mouth, hormonal imbalance and menopause, use of alcohol and tobacco, strong medicines, bacterial infection of the mouth and allergic reactions to certain foods. To relieve these symptoms avoid foods which heat up the system like spicy oily foods and processed foods. Instead stick to simple nutritious foods which will cool the system. Fresh fruits and vegetables are highly recommended with a lot of green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli and parsley. The diet should help to produce new blood cells and be rich in vitamin B12 so that the tissues can rebuild themselves and the damage be healed. Foods which are rich in vitamin B12 are liver, poultry, egg yolk and milk.

The body should be well hydrated as the burning could be a result of insufficient water consumption. Flushing and detoxifying the system first thing in the morning with a lot of water helps to keep it cool. Ensure that you drink a lot of water through out the day too and if the fluids are in the form of fruit juices these should be sugar free ones. Sucking on an ice cube relieves the burning sensation. A cold glass of milk with a spoon of honey in it increases the blood circulation to the tongue and cools the body while relieving the discomfort. Alcohol causes dehydration and should be avoided.

Hope some of this helps her, must be bloody awful. x

I have severe dry mouth from Sjogren’s syndrome. I have been taking Salagen (Pilocapine) for years and it is very effective but all the saliva is produced at once which means you have to keep swallowing frequently or you will drool upon yourself. My prescription is to take 3 pills 3 times a day but it is too long a period of time between doses. I called my pharmacist and asked if it was ok to take the 9 pills in a sequence of 2pills three times and the final dose at bedtime to be 3 pills as it still comes out to be 9 pills a day. She said to check with the doctor but I went on-line to look up information about Salagen. I could not find the answer to my question in the literature. Also I would like to know what is the safest maximum dosage which also could not find the answer to and the pharmacist didn’t know either. The total dosage I take in one day is 45 milligrams. I would really appreciate an answer to my questions.

Actually the recommended dosing schedule is to take Salagen 4 times per day: once after every day and once at bedtime. If you can’t get relief, some doctors are willing to go up to 2 pills per dose (aka 10 mg per dose), four times a day. You should ask your doctor before you increase your dose though. Call your doctor and ask if you can get a script that says to take it 4 times per day. I’m saying this because of the insurance issue: if you start taking the drug 4 times per day and it runs out and you try to get another refill, your insurance may not pay for it early, just because your prescription says "Take 3 times per day."

Are you using artificial saliva spray? I know it doesn’t sound very appetizing, but my mother uses it for her dry mouth and she says it works very well in combination with her prescription. She uses Salivart Synthetic Saliva spray.

Another thing is that maybe Salagen just isn’t working for you. Have you tried other anti-cholinergic drugs? There’s another drug, called cevimeline (brand name Evoxac) that is also used for dry mouth in Sjogren’s syndrome. There are also some alternative drugs that aren’t specifically for dry mouth but may provide some benefit. You should talk to your doctor about your options (if you haven’t already). Hope this helped!

I’ve never been prone to dry mouth but I’ve noticed that since getting braces, it happens every day. Is this a common thing with braces, and what can I do about it?

I didn;t and nobody I know had it

Many teachers delay retirement due to the high cost of health care. We give 30, 35, or more years to the education of our children and then have to worry about if we can afford health care. We need help!

Raise your neighbor’s real estate taxes.

I take great care of my oral hygiene, I brush floss and use mouthwash regularly. I eat healthy foods, however I am constantly bothered by halitosis. Looking for a remedy.

Hello: You are on the right road….what about your tongue, you can buy a dental tongue scraper at the dollar store, clean your tongue as many times during the day as per necessary, to avoid the build up of that whitish appearance.Also, have you given thought as to the REAL REASON behind your halitosis ?? Could be a stomach ailment/gastrointestinal..Don’t know your age, could be a peptic ulcer, dental caries.I am no M.D. but have it checked out..Ask your dentist, he/she must be already aware?? Mouthwashes ONLY mask the problem they DONOT solve it.. GOOD LUCK

Is there any way to not have a dry mouth when I wake up? Sometimes it’s so dry it hurts, and even if I try to brush my teeth, I cannot get the mucus (sorry, I know it’s gross) out of my mouth. Is there anything I can do?

Ensure that you are breathing properly through your nose as you are sleeping. Get some nasal spray to use before bed which will open up your nostrils and stop you from breathing with your mouth open. Dry mouth can cause bad breath.

I got prescibed 5mg a day. I took it sat, sun, and monday. I missed it today but I still got a really dry mouth even though its been over a day since I last took one. My tongue feels/tastes weird. There is also this white coating on my tongue. Even when I do make some saliva or drink water its still dry. Its also causing bad breath. Why is this?

Its just a side affect, you should be fine.
Mine? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111018144203AAtQs3a

I don’t know even one person who wants to be without health insurance. The doctors and the hospitals do use collection agencies to collect their money. So there is no need whatsoever to force anyone to buy it.

The only reason I can see as to why anyone would want me to buy health insurance is because they want to give free health care to illegal aliens. I see no other reason. Oh and those other people on welfare.

People on welfare already qualify for free health care. Illegals can already go to hospitals and skip on the bills, and do so daily. It’s about control. The more control government has over the populace, the more those in government know they can get by with. As long as people *think* they’re getting some benefit from government (whether they are or not), they know that people will continue to sit back and permit our Constitution to be trampled. It’s all a giant shell game to keep our eyes off what’s going on quietly behind the scenes.

Edit – I call BS on anyone who says requiring everyone to have insurance is going to get everyone covered and save the health care system. These people obviously don’t understand how the health care system and insurance work. Traditional full coverage insurance is a huge part of the problem in health care today. When people can go to the doctor for every minor complaint they come across and only pay a minimal copay, they tend to overuse the system… thus increasing demand and cost. People are totally out of touch with the cost of health care when they aren’t paying out of pocket a the time of service. Higher deductible major medical plans that cover preventative medicine at 100% are the way to go to reduce the cost of insurance. They’re ultimately less costly for the consumer, and the consumer has a vested interest in understanding what they’re being asked to pay for before consenting to unnecessary procedures or tests. They also think twice before going to the doctor over trivial ailments. I’ve been on this type plan for 3 years and have literally saved thousands of dollars. There’s also the fact that laws governing health insurance live at state level. This prohibits insurers from offering individual plans across state lines, thus leading to smaller pools of people in plans. This, too, drives up cost. Insuring everyone won’t fix a thing. It will just drive the cost higher, leading to people who can’t afford it even when it’s mandatory. The root problem in health care (cost) has not been addressed with this legislation. Don’t believe me? Give it 10 years. Fewer people will be able to afford health care than can now.

Mints help for the moment but not the duration

Perhaps you could try Body Mint deodorant tablets as in http://au.search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22body+mint%22+%2b+halitosis&fr=ush-ans&ygmasrchbtn=Web+Search&vm=r

Many people hate Michelle Obama’s food vision for this country but health is the most important aspect of our existence. If we had a certification process for every bit of food and drink like they do for organic food, we wood have a scientifically observable basis on which to manage health.

Can you see any drawbacks?

" health is the most important aspect of our existence."

Actually, I think it’s freedom but that’s just my opinion. Keep the government out of my life and my kitchen.