September 23, 2021
Cheilitis is an inflammatory process that affects the border, mucous membrane and skin of the lips. The disease has a long-term recurrent nature.
Cheilitis is an inflammatory process that affects the border, mucous membrane and skin of the lips. The disease has a long-term recurrent nature. In young people, the course is more favorable and self-healing is possible. In old age there is a risk of leukoplakia and malignancy.
Reasons why salty lips occur?
Insufficient oral care
Note! The simplest and safest reason for the taste of salt on the lips and in the mouth is insufficiently thorough personal hygiene.
The glands in the human mouth secrete mucus , which, without regular cleaning of the oral cavity, turns into plaque. This is what gives it the salty taste.
In addition, it causes bleeding gums and bad breath.
Cracked lips, blood in the mouth
Sometimes the taste of salt on the lips is the taste of blood from microcracks. This happens with chapped, dry and bitten lips .
Dry lips often crack. The causes of dryness, in turn, are also numerous: weather, vitamin deficiency, kidney disease, diabetes, etc.
A salty taste in the mouth can also occur due to mechanical damage from mucous food, a toothpick or a brush that is too hard.
Keep in mind! Blood in the mouth also appears due to bleeding gums due to gingivitis and periodontitis.
Infectious processes, rhinitis
The taste of salt on the lips and mouth can be caused by an infection in the body . Most often these are infections in the sinuses .
As a result of inflammatory processes in the sinuses, mucus of a salty taste appears, it descends along the back wall of the throat into the oral cavity and causes this symptom.
The same mechanism for the occurrence of a salty taste during rhinitis , when mucus accumulates in the nasal sinuses and flows down the throat.
A similar picture can occur in people with a deviated nasal septum and similar pathologies.
One of the infections that causes salinity on the lips is thrush . Its other obvious sign is whitish spots in the mouth. It can also cause a metallic and bitter taste.
Gastrointestinal diseases
Stay up to date! Lips may be salty due to a change in taste sensations. They, in turn, are associated with inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and its diseases.
In particular, there is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), in which some of the gastric juice is not restrained by the sphincter and enters the esophagus.
Diseases of the hematopoietic organs
Anemia and diseases of the hematopoietic organs can cause a salty taste on the lips and in the mouth.
Salivary gland disease
Sometimes the appearance of a salty taste in the mouth is a consequence of changes in the quality of saliva.
This can be caused by diseases of the salivary glands : Sjögren's syndrome and viral and bacterial diseases have this symptom.
Taking medications
You should know! Some medications block taste buds and distort the sense of taste. This results in a salty taste in the mouth and lips.
Often salinity appears due to antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs .
Oral contraceptives and drugs for the treatment of high blood pressure do not distort the sense of taste, but they cause the aforementioned flow of mucus down the throat.
The result is the same - salty mucus in the mouth and a taste on the lips.
Pregnancy
Pregnant women sometimes experience saltiness in their lips and mouth
This phenomenon is called dysgeusia.
Hormone imbalances during menopause can also result in a salty taste on the lips and in the mouth.
Pathology of the brain and nerves
It is worth noting! The occurrence of salinity in the oral cavity in rare cases may indicate problems in the functioning of the brain and nerves.
For example, it could be a tumor or epilepsy, multiple sclerosis or Bell's palsy.
Chronic dehydration
Salty and dry lips are a clear sign of dehydration.
This condition is caused by excessive consumption of coffee, energy drinks, tea and other caffeinated drinks, sweet drinks, and alcohol .
Dehydration also occurs with diarrhea.
Crying, ophthalmological and endocrine diseases
It is known that the ear, throat and nose are connected. When crying, tears fall into the throat and cause a salty taste in the mouth and lips.
Remember! This is completely safe, unlike diseases of the eyes and endocrine system, leading to increased tearfulness.
Lack of nutrition
Salty lips may be a sign of a lack of nutrients in the body .
Dry lip skin: what to do for prevention?
If you don't want to have the problem of dry and flaky lips, follow these simple preventive tips. What basic rules of care should you remember?
- Don't lick your lips - especially on the street.
- Avoid eating both very hot and extremely cold foods.
- Before going outside, use hygienic lipstick for dry lips. La-Cri lip balm is well suited for this purpose. The product contains active ingredients such as almond and castor oil, shea butter and rosewood, licorice, aloe and vanilla extracts, as well as vitamins A and E, panthenol, allantoin and bisabolol. They have a beneficial effect on the skin of the lips, nourishing, moisturizing, regenerating and softening it.
- Minimize the use of long-lasting matte lipsticks.
- Don’t forget to remove makeup residue every day, do gentle exfoliation from time to time, and make nourishing lip masks.
- Eat properly and balanced.
If you follow these simple recommendations, you can not only avoid the problem of dry lips, but also maintain their elasticity, softness and youth for a long time.
Other symptoms
Often salty lips appear more than once. A salty taste on the lips and in the mouth can be accompanied by a huge variety of other symptoms that may indicate certain diseases. Among them:
- dry mouth,
- white spots on the tongue
- bleeding gums,
- stomach ache,
- bad breath.
However, you should not diagnose yourself: without the help of a doctor it is almost impossible to do it adequately.
Oral diseases
For your information! In case of diseases of the oral cavity, the taste of salt in the mouth is accompanied by:
- bleeding from the gums,
- loosening of teeth,
- pus in the teeth,
- bad breath,
- open ulcers on the gums,
- pain in the gums.
All these symptoms relate to gingivitis and periodontitis.
Gastrointestinal diseases
Pain in the intestines accompanies salinity on the lips in case of inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
GERD is accompanied by:
- sour, bitter or salty taste in the mouth,
- the appearance of belching,
- heartburn,
- fullness and burning in the upper abdomen,
- tachycardia,
- cough and asthma attacks (sometimes)
As with rhinitis and infections, GERD is accompanied by mucus flowing down the back of the throat.
Know! In addition to the salty taste in the mouth, infections bring with them a runny nose. In case of rhinitis, the nose is constantly stuffy. There is often a desire to clear your throat.
With thrush, white spots appear on the oral mucosa . The taste in the mouth in this case may not be salty, but bitter or metallic.
Dehydration
If the body is dehydrated, its symptoms are:
- constant thirst,
- unusual taste of saliva and its thickness,
- dry hands,
- peeling of the skin in the little finger area,
- dark yellow or brown urine color,
- rare urination,
- fatigue,
- dizziness.
Anemia
Keep in mind! Anemia can be recognized by:
- Pale skin (sometimes with a yellowish tint),
- weaknesses,
- tinnitus,
- flickering “flies” before the eyes,
- frequent fatigue,
- shortness of breath,
- rapid heartbeat,
- tingling in the limbs.
Bacterial and viral diseases of the salivary glands are accompanied by swelling of the glands and their inflammation.
In severe cases, when the excretory canals of the glands are blocked by stones formed in the oral cavity, pain may begin in the form of tingling in the mouth.
Sjögren's syndrome
Please note! Sjögren's syndrome occurs:
- dryness of the mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes,
- stomatitis,
- mumps (mumps),
- caries,
- problems with swallowing food.
Problems with the salivary glands cannot be ignored, as they have many dangerous complications and consequences.
Other diseases
Ophthalmological diseases and diseases of the endocrine system do not reveal themselves as anything other than salty lips and dry mouth.
With a brain tumor, the saltiness on the lips is complemented by headaches and vomiting.
Note ! Trauma to the head or neck can lead to changes in taste.
Multiple sclerosis gives out:
- tremor of the limbs,
- lack of coordination.
In general, pathologies of the brain and nerves make themselves felt by many other symptoms , such as:
- lack of coordination
- convulsions,
- hallucinations,
- difficulties in speech recognition,
- hearing impairment,
- change in intelligence and emotions.
Symptom appearance
Know! From the above, it is clear that there are many reasons for salty lips. Some are associated with the sensation of the taste of saliva, which has changed due to illness, or other body fluids.
Others are caused by a disturbance in the sense of taste. Only a few cases need to be added.
A flow along the back wall of the throat, causing saltiness of the lips and mouth, appears with weather changes - a drop in temperature or a decrease in air humidity .
Spicy foods provoke copious mucus secretion.
Chemicals that modern people often use, smoke and perfumes irritate the mucous membranes and lead to the same result.
Clinical researches
In the course of clinical studies conducted by an expert group together with the Union of Pediatricians of Russia, it was found that La-Cri lip balm relieves the feeling of dryness and discomfort, and also restores dry and cracked lips, moisturizes and protects lips from wind, cold and sun . Based on the results of the research, it became possible to place a special mark on product packaging - “Recommended by the St. Petersburg Branch of the Union of Pediatricians of Russia.”
Sources:
- Baumann Leslie, Cosmetic Dermatology. Principles and practice, publishing house: MEDpress-inform, 2016
- Ratner Desiri, Avram M.R., Avram M.M., Procedures in Dermatology. Clinical cosmetology, Publishing house: GEOTAR-Media, 2019
- Sukolin Gennady Ivanovich, Clinical dermatology. A short guide to the diagnosis and treatment of dermatoses, publishing house: Notabene, 2017
Diagnostics
Diagnostic methods are selected depending on the person’s concomitant health complaints. The symptoms listed above will help you understand which specialist to seek help.
To begin with, you should contact a therapist , who will suggest the further path of examination.
Important! If, during regular hygiene measures, an unpleasant odor persists in the mouth, and even more so if blood is found in the oral cavity, this is a good reason to visit the dentist.
It is necessary to exclude or confirm and treat gingivitis, periodontitis or other oral diseases.
You should also go to the dentist if your salivary glands are swollen to check whether the problem is inflammation.
Thrush that appears in the oral cavity is also diagnosed and treated by this specialist.
If you have a runny nose, cough and a constant desire to improve your throat, you should go to an ENT specialist . People turn to him for constant nasal congestion, which often indicates rhinitis.
Abdominal pain and other tastes in the mouth are a reason to consult a gastroenterologist. Most likely, gastroscopy and/or ultrasound of the abdominal organs will be prescribed.
If you have weakness, constant pallor, noise in the ears, or spots before your eyes, you need to check your blood and rule out anemia.
The doctor prescribes a general blood test and, depending on its results, additional tests to clarify the type of anemia.
Need to know! Constant headaches, vomiting, and lack of coordination accompany the occurrence of tumors and other diseases of the brain and nerves.
Therefore, in such a situation, it is better to consult a therapist, neurologist or oncologist.
The doctor will conduct tests of coordination and reflexes, and may prescribe an MRI or SCT.
Saltiness of the lips when taking medications can be prescribed in the instructions for the drug.
You can also ask the doctor who prescribed the medicine about this.
Treatment
If nothing bothers you other than the taste of salt on your lips, you should try the following:
- brush your teeth regularly,
- use dental floss,
- use mouth rinses ,
- drink more water (from eight glasses a day if there are no contraindications),
- change your diet
- exclude or reduce fast food, snacks, fried, fatty, salty, spicy.
Remember! If this does not help or there are other symptoms that make you worry, you should see a doctor.
Dry lips: treatment at home
If the feeling of tightness and the formation of microcracks on the lips is caused by external factors and you have no internal pathologies, treatment may be limited to the use of folk remedies.
The following recipes are good for softening the skin:
- 0.5 tsp. chamomile flowers are poured into 100 ml of boiling water and allowed to brew until completely cooled. Moisten a cotton pad with the resulting infusion and place it on the lips for 10 minutes.
- Honey works well for cracked lips. It should be applied to the affected areas for 10 minutes and then washed off.
- Sea buckthorn, mustard and linseed oil provide softening and nourishment to the skin. It is necessary to apply any of the indicated oils for 5-10 minutes, and then gently blot the residue with a soft cloth.
