COVID-19 is a viral disease that can occur in 2 forms - severe and mild. A common complication is pneumonia, which requires oxygen therapy. How does the new coronavirus infection affect the human oral cavity? What to do when inflammation appears in the mouth?
In 2021, doctors noted new consequences of the COVID-19 disease, with inflammation, painful rashes and ulcers in the mouth appearing in sick and recovering patients. Those patients who have dental diseases or diseases whose treatment has taken a long time, such as caries, are susceptible to oral problems.
Symptoms of coronavirus infection Covid-19 in the mouth: loss of taste, dry mouth, inflammation of the gums, increased sensitivity in the mouth. Moreover, if the patient suffers from dental diseases at an early stage, then these diseases may worsen, but are not a symptom of Covid-19. Oral diseases indicate complications in the treatment and recovery of the patient.
Dental diseases associated with coronavirus infection:
- stomatitis;
- ulcer inflammation;
- painful rash on the mucous membrane;
- darkening, tooth decay.
Dentists strongly recommend not to ignore the symptoms of coronavirus in the oral cavity, since such diseases lead not only to tooth loss, but also to gum destruction. It is important to consult a dentist in a timely manner with a certain ailment, because any discomfort can develop into a chronic disease.
Why did herpes appear on the gums?
For the virus to make itself felt, two things are enough: its presence in the blood and a weakened immune system.
Infection occurs by airborne droplets and can be transmitted from mother to child. Unfortunately, once you become infected with herpes, you can no longer get rid of it. But you can prevent its activation.
So, after infection, virus particles settle in the body forever. Most of the time the virus does not manifest itself in any way. What factors provoke the manifestation of the virus on the gums? Stress, including sudden nervous shock, chronic depression and fatigue, colds, bacterial and viral diseases, hypothermia, autumn or spring hypovitaminosis. A common cause of the appearance of “bubbles” characteristic of this disease is acclimatization. Are you familiar with the situation when the disease manifests itself on vacation, when changing time zones? Therefore, when planning trips, it is better to immediately stock up on antiviral drugs and ointments.
Prevention
To reduce the likelihood of developing mucosal diseases, the following recommendations should be followed:
- Organize the most gentle nutrition for your child - exclude hot, very chilled, sour, spicy foods from the diet.
- Treat colds in a timely manner, and in the cold season the child should undergo a course of vitamin therapy with medications prescribed by a doctor.
- A dental examination should be carried out at least 2 times a year, and every three months during the period of changing teeth.
- If your child is prone to allergies, be careful about the choice of toothpastes and mouthwashes he uses. If in any doubt, consult a pediatrician or allergist who will give recommendations on choosing the right products for your child.
If such symptoms are detected, it is necessary to promptly show the child to a pediatric dentist or pediatrician.
How to recognize herpes
The difficulty is that the symptoms of herpes in the mouth are easily confused with the manifestation of stomatitis and other diseases of the oral mucosa.
Differences:
- as a rule, stomatitis affects a larger area of the oral mucosa compared to herpes;
- swelling with herpes is less: with stomatitis, there may even be traces of teeth on the mucous membrane of the cheeks;
- ulcers that form during stomatitis have more defined boundaries;
- stomatitis often contributes to the appearance of a very dense coating on the tongue; with herpes, such a symptom does not appear;
- very often with stomatitis (especially purulent, with ulcers), the pain is more intense, it intensifies when the disease spreads over a large area of the mucous membrane. The pain is aching, especially in ulcers, and it becomes difficult to eat food, especially hard and hot food.
Photo of herpes on the gum:
If measures are not taken in time, a viral infection can become complicated and take the form of herpetic stomatitis:
How to understand that the virus has been activated? The first symptoms are tingling on the gums, itching and burning sensation. Then the color of the oral mucosa may change, unpleasant swelling appears locally, then a bright red rash appears, and the last stage is the formation of characteristic “bubbles” with liquid. As the disease progresses, the pain intensifies. When bubbles appear (they are called vesicles), the pain becomes cutting, its intensity increases when eating food or hot drinks.
Vesicles are dropsy filled with fluid with a high concentration of virus. Their sizes increase over time and can reach from 1 mm to 1 cm in diameter. At some point they burst, leaving a painful wound. If an infectious infection occurs, the wound becomes covered with a yellow crust, the mucous membrane of the oral cavity is increasingly affected, flowing into diffuse stomatitis.
External symptoms may include:
- increase in body temperature up to 38 degrees;
- chills;
- increase in size of lymph nodes;
- weakness, loss of strength;
- headache.
Such symptoms more often appear in children, with severe disease and the presence of an inflammatory process. In this case, you cannot do without consulting a doctor.
As a rule, the clinical picture of the disease is obvious. If a relapse does not occur for the first time, often the blisters are localized in the same areas: on the inner surface of the cheeks, tongue, gums. Your doctor may prescribe an oral swab to rule out a fungal or bacterial infection.
There are several types of herpes. As a rule, virus strains 1 and 2 appear on the gums. The consequences can be serious, especially if action is not taken promptly. If it was possible to extinguish the external manifestations of the infection, this is not a reason to refuse further treatment. First of all, you need to determine what type of herpes the patient is dealing with: PCR diagnostics will help with this. If you have a herpes infection, you can contact specialists such as an ENT specialist, an infectious disease specialist, or an immunologist. They will help you choose a treatment regimen that will minimize relapses of the disease in the future.
Possible complications
The greatest threat is posed by complications of allergic and infectious conditions. In the first case, there is always the possibility of developing severe swelling of the oropharynx, which can lead to breathing problems. This condition is especially dangerous if ulcers in the mouth or palate are a complication of tonsillitis.
In children under 6 years of age, oral infections can lead to eustachitis and otitis media - the auditory tube connecting the nasopharynx and middle ear is shorter and wider than in adults, which makes it easier for the infection to spread to the hearing organs.
Antiviral drugs
Their goal is to suppress the pathogen, shorten the duration of the exacerbation, and reduce the intensity of symptoms. The most popular products are Acyclovir and Zovirax in the form of tablets and creams. Using cream in the mouth is difficult, so tablets are optimal. They drink them in a course.
It is better to start treatment at the first signs of the disease. In some cases it can be stopped. Interferon nasal drops have also shown their effectiveness in the initial stages of herpes. At the very least, they prevent the spread of infection into the respiratory tract.
We have already found out that the main reason for the manifestation of herpes is weakened immunity. Conclusion: to avoid relapses, it is necessary to increase the body's defenses. To do this, you should contact an immunologist, who will refer you for diagnostics and prescribe individual treatment. Sometimes it includes immunomodulators - drugs that can increase immunity (Immunal, Imudon and others), folk remedies (for example, echinacea tincture), vitamin and mineral complexes. You can also take specialized complexes of vitamins and minerals, for example, ASEPTA® Parodontal to strengthen teeth and gums: its active components help not only reduce bleeding and inflammation in the oral cavity, but also maintain general immunity.
General recommendations on how to strengthen the body and increase its protection:
- avoid stress, improve sleep;
- include as many fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs in your diet as possible;
- to drink a lot of water;
- exercise or swimming.
In case of exacerbation of herpes on the gums, it is recommended to adhere to a diet: remove spicy, fatty, too hot foods from the diet, exclude hot and alcoholic drinks. To avoid irritating the mucous membranes, avoid smoking.
The difficulty of using creams and ointments is not a reason to refuse local treatment for herpes. Rinsing and irrigating the oral mucosa will help relieve symptoms and prevent the spread of infection. Good products: Hexoral, chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide solution, furatsilin, as well as anesthetic sprays, rinsing solutions, gels with anesthetics (for example, Lidoxor gel, which relieves burning and irritation). Adhesive gum balm ASEPTA® is an effective combined antimicrobial agent that has a wide spectrum of action against gum disease pathogens, thanks to the combination of metronidazole + chlorhexidine, and guarantees long-term fixation on the gums.
Causes
Ulcers on the palate can appear for many reasons. The most likely ones are the following:
Infection of the wound surface.
In children, mucosal injuries are indeed very common. But this tissue has a high ability to regenerate, and damage to the mucous membrane caused by crackers or bread crust quickly heals without leaving a trace.
In cases where a child does not comply with personal hygiene requirements, brushes teeth irregularly or poorly, the surface of the wound becomes colonized with bacteria, which slows down healing and can lead to an increase in the affected area.
Avitaminosis.
If wounds in the oral cavity that appear after an accidental injury do not heal for a long time, but there are no signs of inflammation or infection (redness, loosening of the surface, plaque, etc.), the cause may be a deficiency of vitamin C, B2, B3 or B9.
Ascorbic acid, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid take part in cellular metabolism and are responsible for tissue regeneration. With a deficiency of these substances, the mucous membranes become more susceptible to inflammation, and the cycle of cell division and renewal is disrupted.
Allergy.
Contact allergy is a common disease in children. It develops due to hypersensitivity of the immune system to any substances. These can be pigments in food, components of medicinal substances, filling materials, etc.
During an allergic reaction, inflammation develops in the tissues, which destroys local immunity, leads to the formation of blisters or wounds, and the addition of an infection completes the process - ulcers that take a long time to heal are formed.
Stomatitis.
We wrote in detail about stomatitis here:
Stomatitis in a child: how to treat at home? Drugs!
Herpetic, fungal and aphthous stomatitis are accompanied by the formation of ulcerated areas on the mucosa. But in the first two cases, such damage occurs after opening the vesicles or removing the films, and with aphthous stomatitis, ulcers form as an independent symptom.
In addition to the above reasons, a single ulcer on the hard palate in a child or multiple lesions can be the result of acute or chronic tonsillitis, endocrine disorders, or severe dysfunction of the immune system.
Experts' opinion
Research conducted at the Kazan State Academy has determined that the use of preparations from the Asepta line (gels, balms, toothpastes, rinses) increases the effectiveness of treatment of chronic catarrhal gingivitis and other inflammations, mild and moderate chronic periodontitis, hyperesthesia of hard dental tissues, which together significantly reduces the duration of treatment and increases the duration of remission in this category of patients.
Sources:
- The use of drugs from the Asepta line in the complex treatment of inflammatory periodontal diseases (N.V. Berezina E.N. Silantyeva S.M. Krivonos, Kazan State Medical Academy. Kazan.) N.V. BEREZINA, E.N. SILANTIEVA, S.M. KRIVONOS Kazan State Medical Academy
- https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sovremennye-lechebno-profilakticheskie-sredstva-dlya-individualnoy-gigieny-polosti-rta Silantieva E.N., Berezina N.V., Krivonos S.M. Complex treatment of chronic recurrent aphthous stomatitis using drugs from the Asept line, Practical Medicine journal
- Clinical and laboratory assessment of the influence of domestic therapeutic and prophylactic toothpaste based on plant extracts on the condition of the oral cavity in patients with simple marginal gingivitis. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Elovikova T.M.1, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, Associate Professor Ermishina E.Yu. 2, Doctor of Technical Sciences Associate Professor Belokonova N.A. 2 Department of Therapeutic Dentistry USMU1, Department of General Chemistry USMU2
- Clinical studies of antisensitive toothpaste “Asepta Sensitive” (A.A. Leontyev, O.V. Kalinina, S.B. Ulitovsky) A.A. LEONTIEV, dentist O.V. KALININA, dentist S.B. ULITOVSKY, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Prof. Department of Therapeutic Dentistry, St. Petersburg State Medical University named after. acad. I.P. Pavlova
- The role of anti-inflammatory rinse in the treatment of periodontal diseases (L.Yu. Orekhova, A.A. Leontyev, S.B. Ulitovsky) L.Yu. OREKHOVA, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Prof., Head of Department; A.A. LEONTIEV, dentist; S.B. ULITOVSKY, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Prof. Department of Therapeutic Dentistry of St. Petersburg State Medical University named after. acad. I. P. Pavlova
- Report on clinical trials of anti-inflammatory balm for gums "Asepta" adhesive, St. Petersburg State Medical University, 2007
2. Reasons
Of all diseases of the hematopoietic system, the oral mucosa (OM) is most sensitive to two groups of diseases, one of which concerns red blood cells (erythrocytes) and the hemoglobin associated with them, the other - white blood cells, or leukocytes.
The group of anemia includes a number of diseases and pathological conditions in which the number of red blood cells decreases and the hemoglobin content in the blood decreases.
The group of leukemias includes malignant diseases of the hematopoietic system, in which the proliferation (abnormal multiplication and growth) of blood cells or bone marrow, as well as the activity of the hematopoietic parenchyma, precedes the maturation and differentiation of blood cells (i.e., their acquisition of one or another functional type), therefore, a large number of altered, atypical, immature leukocytes - leukoblasts, myeloblasts, etc. - appear in the blood.
Both anemia and leukemia, with all their etiopathogenetic and clinical diversity, which certainly deserves separate consideration, affect the state of the oral mucosa in more than 90% of patients, and often a preliminary diagnosis is made precisely on the basis of specific changes in the oral mucosa.
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