Excessive salivation - causes and treatment in adults and children

Category: What to do - how to do it right

In the oral cavity of any person there are special small and large glands that produce saliva. Producing a normal amount of saliva is an important and necessary function of the body.

If a person does not have any pathological processes in the body, then about 1 ml should be produced every 5 minutes. saliva. While eating or when sensing pleasant smells of food, when thinking about food, during hunger, the amount of saliva secreted increases - this is a normal reaction of the body and is not a deviation.

If salivation increases spontaneously and for no apparent reason, this may be a signal of a disease.

What is excessive salivation? - difference between normal and pathological

Excessive salivation is the excessive production of saliva by the salivary glands of the mouth. In this case, saliva splashes during a conversation, and it flows from the mouth onto the chin.

A person develops a reflex to constantly spit. If the amount of saliva produced in five minutes significantly exceeds the volume equal to 1 ml. is a pathological sign associated with the development of certain diseases.

Symptoms of the pathology are:

1. Due to the fact that a large amount of liquid is constantly in the mouth, the patient often swallows.
2. The flow of saliva from the oral cavity along the corners of the mouth, onto the chin, cheeks, this is especially noticeable during sleep.
3. Due to irritation by saliva, the integrity of the mucous membrane in the corners of the mouth is compromised (popularly called jams).
4. Red spots or rashes, often purulent, appear on the skin of the cheeks and chin.

In the literature, two forms of increased salivation are noted, depending on the mechanism of occurrence: true and false hypersalivation. The false form is also called pseudohypersalivation.

The true form is associated with excessive work of the salivary glands - usually their activity increases during inflammatory processes in the tissues of the oral cavity.

Pseudohypersalivation is observed if:

• There are difficulties when swallowing saliva. This may be due to sore throat due to sore throat; with damage to the nervous system, in people suffering from rabies; with increased muscle tone in Parkinson's disease.
• The facial nerve is affected. In this case, the lips do not close completely and saliva, even if a normal amount is produced, involuntarily flows out.
• If destruction of the muscle base of the lips has occurred. This may be associated with serious traumatic exposure. Also, the cause of lip destruction can be tuberculosis bacillus.

This pathology is classified depending on the level of occurrence of the disease. Based on this classification, excessive salivation occurs:

1. Due to impaired functioning of the salivary glands.
2. Due to disruption of the activity of the brain and spinal cord.
3. Due to incorrect supply or incorrect decoding of impulses from the receptors of organs and systems to the receptors of various parts of the brain.

Depending on the time of manifestation of increased salivation, the disease is divided into daytime, night and morning hypersalivation.

• Paroxysmal attacks of hypersalivation are observed in people suffering from psychosis.

How to understand that everything is normal

The process of salivation is important for the digestion process , maintaining the moist state of the mucous membranes.

Increased secretion of saliva in the mouth occurs in a person when he sees food - this is a normal reaction of the body.

This will be especially noticeable if the person is hungry.

But excessive salivation that occurs during sleep or regardless of the feeling of hunger and other factors may indicate diseases of the thyroid gland and gastrointestinal tract.

It should be taken into account that normally a milliliter of saliva is released every 5-6 minutes.

If it seems that too much of it is accumulating in the mouth, you need to consult a doctor who will prescribe tests and determine the cause of this phenomenon.

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Folk remedies

Traditional medicine has not ignored such an unpleasant phenomenon as hypersalivation. Typically, both adults and children salivate profusely during stomatitis; this disease is accompanied by bad breath, severe inflammation of the oral mucosa and the formation of purulent ulcers.

To treat stomatitis, the common wood sorrel plant is used (popularly called “rabbit cabbage”). You can prepare teas and decoctions from it, or apply crushed herbs to wounds.

To prepare the infusion, take a large pinch of dried herb and pour 400 g of boiling water, leave for two hours and then drink 50-100 g (depending on body weight), rinse your mouth and make compresses.

A very effective remedy for treating all inflammatory processes in the mouth, as well as sore throats, are pine or spruce needles..

Take 3 medium handfuls of chopped pine needles (along with twigs and small cones), pour a liter of boiling water and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Infuse until rich in color, strain and rinse your mouth and throat several times a day.

Delicious and healthy tea can be prepared from fresh red viburnum berries. Pour a small handful of berries into a mug and crush with a wooden masher, pour boiling water over it, cover with a saucer and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then you can drink this infusion as tea and, if necessary, gargle your mouth and throat with it.

Factors causing hypersalivation

It is normal to produce saliva , but if a person produces too much saliva, it is necessary to determine the cause.

This phenomenon in medicine is called hypersalivation or ptyalism. The main reasons for this are as follows:

• Inflammation in the oral cavity. Hypersalivation can be a consequence of any disease in which the mucous membrane becomes inflamed.

  Through the channels, microorganisms enter the salivary glands and provoke sialadenitis. Excessive production of saliva is the body’s protective reaction to pathologies occurring in the mouth.

• Mechanical irritants. Temporary ptyalism can occur due to dental procedures that irritate or damage the gums.

  Increased secretion is possible in women who use dentures. When adapting, they rub the mucous membrane and provoke reproduction, which leads to copious salivation.

• Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Excessive salivation is associated with disorders of the digestive system: gastritis, high acidity, ulcers, neoplasms.

  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 the excess production of saliva.

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• Paralysis of the muscular system in the maxillofacial area. It is a consequence of damage to the facial nerve.

  The reason is simple: a person cannot normally control the facial muscles, which results in excessive uncontrolled salivation, especially at night and during sleep.

• Diseases of the respiratory system and nasopharynx. Many of them lead to abundant formation of salivary secretion. This could be a sore throat, bronchitis, or inflammation of the maxillary sinuses.

  In this case, the process of salivation is a protective reaction of the body, since saliva can wash away harmful microorganisms from the oral cavity.

  If the diseases are cured, hypersalivation disappears along with them.

• Lesions of the central nervous system. Various mental disorders, brain injuries, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, irritation of the vagus nerve.

  In this case, increased secretion of the glands is combined with nausea. Patients may have problems with swallowing and nasal breathing that are not under their control.

• Medicinal ptyalism. All medications have side effects, and for many, the list includes increased salivation.

  This applies to medications with anticholinergic effects. As a rule, after stopping their use, saliva production returns to normal on its own.

• Endocrine diseases. When the hormonal balance is disrupted, all functions of the organs and systems of the body are disrupted.

  There may also be deviations in the activity of the salivary glands, which produce excessive amounts of fluid.

  All types of diabetes mellitus, abnormalities of the thyroid gland, and inflammation in the pancreas can lead to this.

• Bad habits. In women who smoke, the inner lining of the oral cavity is constantly damaged.

  Every inhalation of smoke, tar and nicotine injures the mucous membrane. And the salivary glands produce more fluid to reduce irritation.

  Because of this, hypersalivation is common among smokers. If a person quits smoking, salivation returns to normal after a certain time.

They say that pregnancy is often the cause and symptom of increased salivation in women.

True, it often occurs in pregnant women .

Its etiology in this case is associated with neuroendocrine disorders that provoke toxicosis in the early or late stages.

This condition is accompanied by excessive salivation, nausea and vomiting. Increased secretion of glands due to heartburn is alkaline and can reduce acidity, improving the condition of the pregnant woman.

Nausea usually occurs in the morning. If we are talking about early toxicosis without pathological abnormalities, there is no need to treat hypersalivation. Over time it will go away on its own.

Another reason for hypersalivation 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.

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Excessive salivation at night - causes

In a healthy person, during sleep, the function of the salivary glands is inhibited, and they begin to produce less saliva. The dreaming process consists of several phases.

If the sleep mechanism undergoes a change, this is reflected in the salivary glands: they “wake up” earlier than the person himself and begin to produce saliva.

And, as you know, during sleep, all muscle fibers relax in a person, this also applies to the orbicularis oris muscle. At the same time, the mouth is slightly open, the saliva produced has nowhere to go except to pour out.

If a person does not notice this symptom often, then there are no signs of concern. Most likely this is a sign of stress. However, if drooling is observed frequently, this is a pathology that requires treatment.

At night, hypersalivation can be a symptom of ARVI or flu, which are accompanied by nasal congestion. Also, drooling can be a sign of malocclusion, partial or complete secondary adentia.

• After the rehabilitation of these conditions, the copious secretion of saliva at night stops.

Help yourself

You need to start fighting the problem by finding out the cause and eliminating it. Therefore, you should not take medications or go for procedures without the knowledge of a specialist.

But if you are prone to this problem, then you can reconsider your diet .

It is recommended to limit foods that are high in sugar , as sweets tend to increase the amount of saliva produced.

Try to limit sugary drinks, sweets and baked goods, and dairy desserts. Avoiding acidic foods helps reduce salivation .

Hypersecretion is provoked by citrus fruits, sauerkraut, yoghurts, and products that contain vinegar.

When the functioning of the salivary glands returns to normal, familiar foods can be returned to the diet.

There are foods that cause dry mouth by helping to fight salivation. These are fiber foods: whole grain bread, whole oats, beans and other legumes.

You can rinse your mouth with chamomile decoction, oak bark infusion, and vegetable oils. Unsweetened tea or water with lemon juice helps.

You can rinse your mouth with shepherd's purse infusion, extract or tincture of water pepper, which are sold in pharmacies.

Methods of diagnosis and therapy

If you notice increased salivation, go to your doctor .

If necessary, he will refer you to specialists of a narrower profile. First, the doctor will determine the cause of the pathology and, taking it into account, will choose treatment methods.

The following measures will help cope with the problem of hypersalivation :

1. Anticholinergic drugs: Scopolamine and Platiphylline. They help stop salivation, but they have many side effects, including heart and eye problems.
2. In extreme cases, a procedure may be necessary to remove part of the glands, which will eliminate the problem of increased salivation.
3. Radiation therapy, which involves the destruction of the salivary ducts. But it can lead to damage to tooth enamel.
4. For neurological diseases, after a stroke, facial massage may be indicated to normalize salivation.
5. In order to block part of the salivary ducts, Botox injections can be used, the duration of which does not exceed 6 months.
6. Cryotherapy is sometimes used. After a course of procedures at the reflex level, swallowing saliva will become more frequent.
7. Homeopathic medicines can be used to reduce the amount of secretion released.

Thanks to these methods, salivation can be normalized, but a specialist can determine whether they are advisable.

Sometimes such measures are not required , and it will be easier to eliminate the cause of the problem than to force the glands to work normally.

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In children

© Mykola Velychko / Fotolia

For children in the first year of life, hypersalivation is not a problem worth attention at all - it is a normal process in a healthy child’s body. Here the unconditional reflex factor comes to the fore.

When teething, especially the first milk teeth, when the gums have not yet been subjected to such tests, excessive salivation is also not a pathological condition and does not require any medical intervention. This may happen again temporarily when wisdom teeth come in.

However, older children should not suffer from hypersalivation. If the problem appears, it may be a consequence of injuries to brain tissue due to blows and bruises or other pathologies of the nervous system . It is imperative to consult with specialists.

At approximately three months, the baby's salivary glands begin to function. This is when severe drooling may begin. However, in this case, ptyalism is not a medical problem, because the baby will definitely need some time to simply learn to swallow saliva.

Another factor that causes hypersalivation is part of the defense system of a small organism. With saliva flowing out of the mouth, bacteria and infections that have entered there are removed. In addition, the abundance of fluid helps soften and facilitate the eruption of the first teeth.

In very rare cases, increased salivation in babies may be a sign and consequence of brain damage that arose during the perinatal period. This may be a consequence of a very difficult birth or postpartum trauma.

Using the following video, you can explain to your child why saliva is secreted:

What not to do

First of all, you should not diagnose yourself . It is unlikely that you will succeed, and by starting treatment, you risk harming yourself.

If you notice increased salivation, you should give up bad habits and uncontrolled use of medications .

It is important to eliminate the risk of mechanical trauma to the oral cavity.

Hypersalivation, which has no obvious natural cause, should never be ignored, because it can be a symptom of very serious diseases.

Symptoms of the phenomenon

Hypersalivation (also called increased salivation) is characterized by the following symptoms :

• frequent characteristic swallowing movements, creating neurosis in the patient;
• streams of saliva flowing from the mouth, often at the corners of the mouth;
• irritated skin of the chin;
• This phenomenon may also be accompanied by a pustular rash on constantly moist skin.

It is worth keeping in mind that there are:

• True hypersalivation , in which saliva production exceeds the norm of one ml in five minutes.
• False , which occurs due to difficulty swallowing liquid due to certain diseases. For example, sore throat, Parkinson's disease, etc.

False hypersalivation is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting . By this feature it can be distinguished from the true form.