Increased salivation in adults: causes and treatments

15.06.2018

Increased salivation in an adult is a symptom of inflammation or disease of the gums, teeth or internal organs. It is important not only to eliminate excessive salivation, but also to correctly determine its cause, otherwise the recovery will be temporary.

Salivation is considered normal if the volume of saliva does not exceed two liters per day. It is involved in digestion, washing away pieces of food, remnants of drinks and bacterial activity from the teeth. Normally, the process of salivation is invisible to humans - we do not pay attention to it, like, for example, breathing. But if a failure occurs, then too much saliva causes discomfort.

With this disease, saliva accumulates in the mouth too quickly; you constantly have to make sure that it does not leak out and spit. It is inconvenient, unaesthetic, spoils the mood and causes discomfort. In the article we tell you what are the causes of increased salivation in men and women and how to treat it.

How to understand that salivation is increased: symptoms and signs of failure

Saliva is involved in many important processes occurring in the human body. When everything is normal, we do not notice that saliva:

● helps to pronounce words and sounds clearly and correctly;

● enhances the perception of the taste of food and drinks;

● participates in digestion - helps to chew food and also swallow it.

When salivation is increased, several processes are disrupted at once:

● the taste of food changes - salty food becomes too pronounced, and subtle nuances are not felt;

● problems with diction appear – pronouncing some sounds is problematic;

● it becomes painful to swallow food.

Location of glands

In addition to indirect signs, there are also clear, measurable criteria. If more than two milliliters of saliva is released within five minutes, the patient is diagnosed with increased salivation. The normal value is 2 ml.

Sometimes patients complain of false profuse salivation. This happens when there is injury or inflammation in the mouth and it may seem that there is more saliva than there should be, although the levels are normal: 2 ml in 5 minutes or 2 liters per day.

Symptoms of tonsillitis

The clinical manifestations of tonsillitis are quite specific. The disease can be easily diagnosed. Typical symptoms include:

• pain in the throat area;
• redness of the palatine arches;
• enlargement of the submandibular lymph nodes;
• prolonged increase in body temperature, increasing in the evening;
• burning, sore throat;
• presence of cough;
• presence of bad breath;
• caseous masses inside the lacunae of the tonsils;
• chills;
• headache;
• increased fatigue
• a feeling of aching in the joints in the presence of elevated temperature.

Causes of increased salivation in men and women

The volume of saliva secreted is controlled by the nervous system. When everything is in order with health, it happens naturally and unnoticed by a person. But when problems arise or diseases appear, the process is disrupted. A variety of factors can influence, but most often the cause of increased salivation in adult men and women is one of six factors.

1. Oral diseases - gum inflammation, periodontitis, stomatitis, as well as cuts and burns. When bacteria enter the glandular tubules, the body begins to produce more saliva to get rid of them. This is a natural reaction.
2. Digestive system problems - abnormal stomach acidity, pancreatic and liver diseases.
3. CNS diseases - Parkinson's disease, trigeminal nerve damage, bulbar syndrome, migraine. With these diseases, the natural process of salivation is disrupted. Short-term impairment may occur due to air sickness, seasickness, or problems with the vestibular apparatus.
4. Hormones - failures of the hormonal system, in particular the thyroid gland, menopause, diabetes mellitus lead to excessive salivation. Sometimes this is observed in adolescents during the restructuring of the body.
5. Smoking and removable dentures can also affect it. Both of these phenomena irritate the mucous membrane, stimulating the overactive functioning of the glands.
6. Taking medications - some medications have side effects of increased salivation or, as it is also called, hypersalivation. Most often these are those medications that contain iodine or mercury. For example: lithium, physostigmine, muscarine.

Pilocarpine, nitrazepam also lead to hyperactivity of the glands

What to do with increased salivation depends on the factors that caused it. In some cases, for example, when taking medications, the disease will go away without the intervention of a doctor.

Salivary glands - increased salivation and dry mouth

There are a number of tips to help keep your salivary glands healthy:
First, you need to drink plenty of water. Secondly, you should use chewing gum that does not contain sugar. And thirdly, it is necessary to suck on lollipops, which also do not contain sugar.

In certain cases, your dentist may recommend gargling with artificial saliva. The above drug is sold in spray or liquid form. You do not need a prescription to purchase it, but use it several times a day. However, artificial saliva does not contain proteins, minerals and other necessary elements that are contained in natural salivary fluid. Thus, the above drug will simply be useless for digestion.

Increased salivation in women during pregnancy

A common cause of hypersalivation in women is pregnancy. When a woman is preparing to become a mother, the hormonal background of the body changes greatly, and with it many processes: blood circulation, digestion.

Pregnancy affects all systems at once:

● endocrine;

● nervous;

● digestive.

Often, expectant mothers experience problems with their teeth and gums, such as gingivitis. This disease also affects the amount of saliva produced.

Healthy and inflamed gums

Tonsillitis in children

Tonsillitis in children develops as an infectious-allergic process. Inflammation occurs predominantly in the lymphoid tissue in the tonsils. More often than others, the pharyngeal tonsils are affected. In the acute period, pain when swallowing, high temperature, and severe intoxication are noted.

Outside of exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis in children, hypertrophy of the tonsils is detected, as well as purulent plugs inside the lacunae. Enlarged submandibular lymph nodes are noted. The child constantly has bad breath. This disease mainly affects children. They make up up to two-thirds of all sick people. Most often, tonsillitis occurs between the ages of four and eight years. In children under three years of age, lymphoid tissue is still underdeveloped.

Causes of increased salivation at night in adults

During sleep, processes in the body go slower, including the secretion of saliva. But glitches may occur. Here are the main factors that cause too much saliva to be produced during sleep:

● breathing through the mouth, not through the nose - often happens when a person sleeps on his back;

● malocclusion – the mouth remains open during sleep, the tongue dries out and the body decides that more saliva is needed;

● poor sleep - too much sleep when a person is not sure that he is sleeping. This can lead to the body considering the dream as reality and secreting saliva as if during the day.

This is what an open bite looks like - the tongue protrudes forward

Excess saliva in the mouth

By and large, a large amount of saliva is not a problem if the condition is not systemic. Typically, the amount of saliva you produce depends on what you drink or eat. In a healthy person, the body easily eliminates excess salivation. In general, excessive salivation is caused by overactivity of the salivary glands, as well as if a person has a disturbed swallowing process.

If you eat a spicy dish during your lunch break, your body will begin to intensively secrete saliva. This is because the taste buds on the tongue help increase the volume of fluid produced. For a visual example, you can put something sharp on your tongue. After a few moments, you will be able to feel a rush of saliva into your mouth. Also, sour foods affect excessive salivation. Accordingly, you can reconsider your diet if you are concerned about excess salivary secretion. In addition, the above symptom may occur as a result of certain diseases and abnormalities, as well as due to the use of special medications.

Treatment of increased salivation

Depending on the cause of hypersalivation, different doctors provide treatment:

● dentists solve problems of local oral diseases;

● endocrinologists for hormonal disorders;

● gastroenterologists, if the problem is diseases of the digestive system;

● neurologists, if the failure is due to problems with the central nervous system.

A dentist will help identify the cause, and a therapist will refer you to a specific specialist.

Treatment with medications

In addition to eliminating the causes associated with disruption of the internal organs, the doctor may prescribe medications that eliminate the symptoms. For example:

● riabal;

● scopolamine;

● platiphylline.

Taking medications without a doctor's prescription is prohibited!

We do not recommend purchasing or taking medications without consulting a doctor. Each drug has contraindications and side effects: from glaucoma to liver, heart, and vascular diseases.

You should not risk your life and health to save time or money on a visit to the clinic.

Botox treatment

For short-term symptom relief, Botox injections are sometimes used. It blocks nerve signals, reducing tubule activity. This method helps to quickly get rid of the problem, but, unfortunately, the effect does not last long.

Facial massage and muscle relaxation

It will help if the cause is related to nervous tension, stress or central nervous system pathologies.

Removal of glands

It is prescribed extremely rarely, only in cases where all other methods and elimination of the causes of the disease have not helped. Removal, even partial, can damage the facial nerves.

Elimination of hypersalivation

The best way to get rid of hypersalivation is to eliminate its cause. In many cases, changing medications or treating the underlying condition will help stop excess salivation. However, there are other methods that can help you reduce the amount of saliva your body produces.

For example, avoiding foods and drinks that can stimulate saliva production may help. Such irritants are different for everyone, but citrus fruits and alcohol, as a rule, temporarily increase salivation. Use an alcohol-free mouthwash because alcohol dries out your mucous membranes, which can signal your body to produce more saliva. In addition, it is useful to drink more liquid: this will make the saliva less viscous and easier to swallow.

Excessive salivation makes it difficult to speak, eat, and interact with others. Having eliminated the cause of hypersalivation, you can again look at mouth-watering foods without fear.

Quinsy

Purulent tonsillitis is an infectious-inflammatory process. It affects the lymphoid tissue of the tonsils of the palate with the formation of purulent masses on their surface. Inflammation is accompanied by a pronounced intoxication syndrome.

The purulent form is considered a complication of follicular or lacunar tonsillitis. Purulent sore throat is severe. It is considered a serious disease. It is manifested by the following symptoms in this form:

• a sore throat;
• high body temperature;
• severe general weakness;
• inability to swallow food due to pain;
• vomit;
• bad breath;
• convulsions;
• accelerated heartbeat;
• profuse sweat;
• headache;
• lack of appetite;
• nausea;
• salivation;
• respiratory disorders;
• enlargement of regional lymph nodes;
• earache;
• stool disorder.

In this form, clinical manifestations are accompanied by severe lethargy and drowsiness.

Acute tonsillitis

In another way, acute tonsillitis is usually called tonsillitis. This is an infectious lesion of the pharyngeal ring with local inflammation of the lymphoid elements. The process most often involves the palatine tonsils. Acute tonsillitis is most often caused by streptococci or staphylococci, less often by other microorganisms, fungi and viruses.

Often, damage to the tonsils is combined with inflammation of the lymphoid elements and mucous membrane on the back wall of the pharynx. The following symptoms are characteristic of acute tonsillitis:

• severe sore throat, aggravated by swallowing movements;
• redness, swelling of the tonsils;
• caseous contents in the canals of the lacunae;
• plaque on the tonsils;
• inflammation of the follicles;
• soreness and enlargement of the submandibular and cervical lymph nodes;
• general malaise and severe weakness;
• temperature increase up to 40 °C;
• feeling of discomfort in muscles and joints;
• chills.

These symptoms are accompanied by manifestations of severe intoxication with nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, impaired consciousness and abdominal pain occur.

Prevention of tonsillitis

After treatment for tonsillitis, preventive measures are recommended. The following measures are being taken:

• eliminate hypothermia;
• stimulate the immune system (hardening, taking immunomodulators);
• avoid contact with infectious patients;
• treat purulent lesions on the skin and mucous membranes;
• promptly carry out therapy for tonsillitis, inflammation in the mouth and pharynx.

If a child often suffers from sore throat, partial removal of the tonsils is performed.