Drooling can have different causes. All because excessive salivation is a symptom, not a disease. People who like sour fruit or spicy spices can complain of drooling because they stimulate the salivary glands to work. But drooling can also indicate one of many diseases, including life-threatening ones, incl. cancer of the mouth, throat or esophagus. Find out what causes drooling.

Drooling( hypersalivation ) can have a variety ofcauses . All becausesalivationis a symptom, not a disease. Drooling can result from eating sour fruit, spicy spices, or drinking alcohol. In other cases, it is a symptom of numerous diseases, mainly of the mouth, throat and esophagus. Excessive drooling can also occur in people who take various medications, mainly antipsychotics.

Drooling - oral conditions

  • Afts are small but very painful ulcers that are covered with a white coating and surrounded by erythema - in the course of the disease, as a result of irritation of the oral mucosa, drooling may appear;
  • Necrotizing ulcerative stomatitis - erosive or ulcerative lesions of the oral mucosa and tongue are characteristic symptoms, there are also pain, difficulties with swallowing (including saliva), eating and speaking;
  • Stomatitis herpes - the cause of the disease is the herpes virus ( Herpes simplex ), which causes white fluid-filled vesicles that appear all over the oral mucosa, as well as on the lips, accompanied by fever, drooling, unpleasant smell from the mouth (referred to as putrefactive);
  • Phlegmon of the floor of the mouth - the patient's mouth is almost always open, his tongue is moved up and back, which sticks to the roof of the mouth and the back of the throat, which leads to difficulty breathing, the tongue often stiffens making breathing and speech even more difficult, the bottom of the mouth is swollen, which makes it difficult to swallow saliva, and thus - drooling;
  • Malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity:
  1. cheek cancer - white, red spots or soresor nodules located at the mouth of the salivary gland;
  2. tongue cancer - red spots, ulcerations or lumps on the side of the tongue;
  3. cancer of the floor of the mouth - a tumor visible on the side of the floor of the mouth.

This also causes pain, numbness in the mouth, trismus, bleeding from the mouth, drooling and an unpleasant smell from the mouth.

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Drooling - throat conditions

  • Epiglottitis is manifested by severe pain and difficulty swallowing, which causes saliva in the mouth and drooling; accompanied by a sore throat, shortness of breath and silence;
  • A peritonsillar abscess is most often a complication of angina and is manifested by a severe fever, sore throat, especially on the side of the abscess, pain when swallowing, earache, trismus, drooling, foul breath and painful enlargement of the lymph nodes;
  • A post-throat abscess is an abscess of soft tissues near the back of the throat, which is manifested by difficulty swallowing, and thus - drooling, fever and enlargement of the cervical lymph nodes;
  • Malignant neoplasms of throat:
  1. oropharyngeal cancer - bad breath, difficulty speaking and breathing;
  2. laryngeal cancer (lower pharynx) - hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, feeling that something is stuck in the throat.

Drooling - esophageal diseases

  • Gastroesophageal reflux - typical symptoms are heartburn, belching, nausea, vomiting, heavy pouring, sour taste in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, drooling, epigastric pain; these ailments are exacerbated in the supine position, when bending over and pushing, as well as after a heavy and full meal;
  • Esophageal cancer is most often the result of many years of drinking alcohol and smoking; symptoms of esophageal cancer include difficulties swallowing, depending on the stage of the disease, the patient may still swallow solid foods or cannot swallow at all, accompanied by salivation, accompanying symptoms include halitosis, retrosternal pain, vomiting and pneumonia;

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Drooling - a foreign body in the throat or esophagus

In adults, a foreign body can get into the throat while eating, because most often it is a bone, a bone fragment, a fruit stone, and a nut or an earring placed in the tongue. In children, a foreign body can be all small items that are within their reach, but most often these are coins andtoy fragments. Then, apart from drooling, there are: sudden, stinging pain in the throat that increases when you try to swallow and may radiate into the ear, difficulty swallowing, and even shortness of breath (if the foreign body stuck in the throat is larger).

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Drooling - food poisoning

Food poisoning, apart from drooling, also causes the following symptoms: severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, drooling and fever. They appear after eating food poisoned or contaminated with bacteria, pesticides, poisonous fruit (e.g. wolfberry) or fungi, medicines, drugs, detergents, acids and bases.

Drooling - diseases of the nervous system

  • Cerebral palsy - as a result of damage to the central nervous system, uncontrolled facial expressions, persistent drooling and unpleasant breathing caused by it, as well as uncontrolled opening of the jaw, the patient also struggles with malocclusion, caries and other dental diseases;
  • Parkinson's disease manifests itself as muscle stiffness, slow movement, falls, tilting the body forward, walking with small steps, body tremors, speech and swallowing disorders, constipation and drooling;
  • Epilepsy is a group of symptoms that consists of repeated seizures, mainly characterized by: movement disorders (seizures), mental disorders (partial or complete loss of consciousness), as well as pallor, cyanosis or redness of the face, drooling or involuntary drooling. urinating or defecating;
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease in which the upper and lower motor neurons are damaged. Almost all patients with bulbar form suffer from drooling due to difficulty swallowing saliva and bilateral supra-nuclear paresis of the muscles of the lower face.

Drooling - Wilson's disease

Wilson's disease is a genetic disease, the essence of which is a disorder of copper metabolism, specifically its accumulation in the liver. This process leads to dysfunction of this organ, as well as of the brain, kidneys and cornea, as over time copper enters these organs through the blood. Symptoms of the disease are not specific, which delays the correct diagnosis. These include increased muscle tension, hand tremors, problems with writing, problems with balance, as well as with speaking, swallowing and the associated drooling, and even anxiety. To avoid organ damage, excess copper should be removed from the body as soon as possibleand prevent it from accumulating again.

Read also: Salivary gland cancer - the risk increases with age

Drooling - mononucleosis

Mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, which is transmitted through saliva, which is why it is colloquially called the kissing disease. When infected, they develop fever, swollen lymph nodes, a runny nose and a sore throat. Its redness is also characteristic with a significant enlargement of the tonsils, which may be covered with a whitish coating, which causes an unpleasant smell from the mouth. Drooling may also occur. Abdominal pain caused by an enlarged spleen should also be of attention.

Drooling - chickenpox

Chicken pox is primarily an itchy rash. In addition, there is a headache, fever and lack of appetite. If a person who is sick 2-3 weeks before the onset of symptoms has been in contact with someone with chickenpox, one can be sure of the disease.

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Drooling in children

Excessive production of saliva is normal in babies during the teething period and may cause saliva leakage from the mouth. Teeth brushing is a very painful process, so crying and irritability, and even vomiting, may also occur. In addition, the baby can rub their gums or put anything they can into their mouth.

Drooling - rabies

Rabies is a zoonotic disease that is transmitted, among others, by by dogs and bats, and by foxes and squirrels. Initially, there is hyperemia, pain, and a tingling, burning or numbness sensation at the site of the bite accompanied by flu-like symptoms. In the advanced stage of the disease, there is drooling, psychomotor agitation, visual and auditory hallucinations, and great sensitivity to sound and light.

Drooling - foot-and-mouth disease

Foot-and-mouth diseaseis a zoonotic disease. Infection can occur through contact with sick animals, as well as through consumption of raw milk from sick animals. Then there is fever, headaches and spine pains, redness of the oral mucosa, vomiting, drooling, blisters on the lips, tongue and cheeks. The disease does not pose a major threat to human he alth and disappears after about 2 weeks.

Drooling - medications

Drooling most often occurs in patients who are given antipsychotic drugs. Most often it is clozapine, but it can also be drugs such as risperidone, olanzapine or lithium. The causes of excessive salivation are also drugs that cause increased appetite and parasympathomimetic preparations (pilocarpine,nicotine).

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Drooling in pregnancy

Drooling during pregnancy is a common occurrence that usually accompanies nausea. Doctors aren't sure what causes drooling in pregnancy, but the most likely cause is hormones.

About the authorMonika Majewska A journalist specializing in he alth issues, especially in the areas of medicine, he alth protection and he althy eating. Author of news, guides, interviews with experts and reports. Participant of the largest Polish National Medical Conference "Polish woman in Europe", organized by the "Journalists for He alth" Association, as well as specialist workshops and seminars for journalists organized by the Association.

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