7 Causes of dry mouth, not just lack of water!

Almost everyone has experienced dry mouth, especially if you don't drink enough, so you become dehydrated. Plus the number of activities carried out in the hot sun, the throat feels dry and sore too. It turns out that the cause of dry mouth is not only due to dehydration, you know. Check out the other possibilities below.

What are the causes of dry mouth?

Dry mouth can also be referred to as xerostomia. Quoted from Medline Plus, this condition occurs when the salivary glands do not produce enough saliva so that the mouth doesn't feel as wet as usual.

It could be said that the main cause of dry mouth is a condition that affects your salivary glands directly. Although it is a common thing, conditions that persist can lead to other health problems and are classified as serious.

The following are various other common causes of dry mouth, including:

1. Dehydration

When the body loses a lot of fluids and lack of fluids entering, a condition known as dehydration will occur. This imbalance can interfere with functions in the body.

One of them is causing the mouth to feel dry. When you experience extreme thirst and dizziness, it is a sign for you to increase your body's water intake.

Not only because of lack of water intake, this one cause of dry mouth can also occur when you experience other illnesses such as fever, excessive sweating, diarrhea, blood loss, and vomiting.

2. Age factor

As you get older, you often find dry mouth conditions. However, please note that dry mouth is not a normal part of aging.

Then, why the age factor can be the cause of dry mouth? This is because of the use of certain drugs. Coupled with changes in the body's ability to process drugs and nutrients with age, the risk of dry mouth can occur.

So do not be surprised if elderly people such as grandparents, or even yourself often experience dry mouth.

3. Smoking and drinking alcohol

Smoking and drinking alcohol are the two most common causes of dry mouth. The reason is, these two bad habits can reduce saliva production and worsen dry mouth symptoms.

Such as the effect of alcohol, which has diuretic properties, which makes the body remove fluid from the bladder faster than usual.

If consumed in excess and not accompanied by mineral water intake, dry mouth, headaches, and dizziness will occur.

4. Consumption of drugs

If you often feel dry mouth, look again at the types of medicines you are taking. Several types of drugs, especially over-the-counter medicines, have side effects that can cause dry mouth.

Here are some types of drugs that cause dry mouth, including:

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are useful for eliminating bacterial infections in the body. However, antibiotics can trigger dry mouth.

Usually the antibiotics used to treat pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus, and skin infections can cause dry mouth.

Antidepressants

Several studies have shown that tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors can reduce saliva production. Both are drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.

Bronchodilators

Bronchodilators are a collection of drugs used to treat respiratory-related diseases.

In it there is a bronchodilator type drug containing beta 2 agonists or anticholinergics which can inhibit the production of mucus and saliva in the mouth. As a result, this drug can also cause dry mouth and chapped lips.

Diarrhea medicine

Although they can reduce smooth muscle contraction and relieve spasms, diarrhea medications also have other side effects. One of the effects is that it causes dry mouth. For that, you need to drink more water to keep your body well hydrated and your mouth not dry.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines are medicines that help relieve colds, watery eyes, and allergies. However, this drug can inhibit the parasympathetic nervous system from regulating the body's tissues that are not recognized. This condition ultimately results in reduced saliva production in the mouth.

Painkillers

Narcotic and opioid painkillers can stimulate the absorption of fluids and electrolytes in the body. As a result, there is less fluid left in the mouth than usual and makes it feel dry.

Diuretic

Diuretics are medicines that help reduce the amount of water and salt in the body. You do this by removing these two components through urine (urine). If you take high doses of diuretic drugs, you will lose more fluids.

This decrease in body fluids is then accompanied by a decrease in the activity of the salivary glands and can cause dry mouth.

Antihypertensive drugs

Antihypertensive drugs (high blood pressure drugs) such as alpha blockers and beta blockers turned out to inhibit the production of saliva.

In addition, ACE inhibitors, which are used to treat high blood pressure as well as diabetes and kidneys, can also be the cause of a drier mouth than usual.

If you are taking the drugs above and experience dry mouth, consult a doctor. Your doctor may adjust the dose again or change your medication.

5. Cancer therapy

People who are undergoing cancer treatment with chemotherapy or radiation will usually experience dry mouth. The side effects of chemotherapy as a cancer treatment can change the nature and amount of saliva, making it prone to causing dry mouth.

No need to worry, this is usually temporary and will return to normal after your cancer therapy is complete. However, this can also be permanent if the dose of the drug used is high enough.

6. Nerve damage

Injury or surgery to the head and neck can cause side effects such as dry mouth. This is because the nerves in the head and neck play an important role in sending signals to the salivary glands to be able to produce saliva.

If these nerves are damaged, there are no more nerves that send signals to the salivary glands. As a result, the amount of saliva decreases and is a cause of dry mouth.

7. Certain diseases

Do you experience dry mouth all the time, even if it's getting worse over time? Immediately consult a doctor.

It could be that there are certain diseases that you are experiencing, ranging from mild to severe. For example canker sores, mumps, rheumatism, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, to autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren's syndrome or HIV / AIDS.

Yes, some of these diseases can play a role in causing dry mouth which makes you uncomfortable.