Halitosis and Medications

The bacterium found in the average mouth accumulates mostly on the person's tongue towards the back and is one of several causes of halitosis. The anaerobic bacteria feed upon food debris and then produce Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSC). Volatile Sulfur Compounds smells much like hydrogen sulfide, and will remind you of the smell of rotten eggs. Bad breath (halitosis) can also result from medications. It is true that your medications could also be a culprit in your breath problems.

The reason for this is that most medications have a drying effect either to dry out the sinuses or to dry up the mucus, which is caused in part from postnasal drip. Anti-anxiety medications also have this same "drying up" side effect. In fact, several do, and it would be wise to take a good look at those prescriptions or call your doctor to find out this information. You should not have to choose between your medications and your breath.

Just a few medications that have the side effect of dry mouth:

Antidepressants

Antihistamines

Birth Control Pills

Decongestants

High Blood Pressure Medicines

Indigestion

Hormone Replacement Medicines

The primary effect of these medications is that they cause dry mouth so you have a choice to stop the medication or to walk around with your breath smelling like rotten eggs. Neither option seems viable. You can also learn a few tricks to help you stay well hydrated:

Drinking plenty of water or sugarless fluids

Drinking water with lemon or lime - need to break up the monotony.

Avoid caffeine, spicy foods, and salty foods when possible.

Chew gum, preferably sugarless this will stimulate saliva production.

Avoid stress

Use of a humidifier

Also, did you know that the mere thought of something sour would stimulate saliva production? So, if you don't have a lemon handy at the moment, simply picture one in your mind and there you go - saliva! In case you were wondering, saliva has natural antibiotic elements that reduce the number of bacteria in the mouth. When our mouths dry out saliva production diminishes and halitosis increases.

Now that you have determined some of the medications that may contribute to dry mouth and looked at some of the ways to keep the saliva flowing, here are some oral care tips. You should now take a look at other forms of oral care which will serve to enhance your breath now that you are doing everything you can to counteract the effects the medications.

Daily brushing is an absolute. How you brush is very important and many people do not realize there is a proper brushing technique that will remove food particles lodged between the teeth. Daily brushing will go a long way to improving bad breath. Also, having regular dental cleanings will also improve the decline of bacteria making a home in your mouth. Also, have you ever checked out your tongue in the mirror? See that white stuff back there? It's not supposed to be there. You can purchase a handy little item called a tongue scraper made just for the purpose of getting rid of that foul white gunk. Remember to have a proper diet as well, which has great consequences beyond helping to rid the rotten smell coming from the mouth.

Another quick cleaning technique that you may want to use if you are in a meeting or another public place and you are not able to brush your teeth after eating or when you feel the compulsion to irradiate bad breath a quick solution would be to simply take a drink of water and swish it around to loosen the particles trapped that the bacteria like to feed upon and then spit it out. Any action is better than no action!

Again, the chewing action is pivotal and snacks such as fresh vegetables as opposed to candy, chips, and cookies will help to keep plaque from forming and will aid in keeping the saliva juices flowing freely.

Vitamin C is healthy for the body in many respects and you may be surprised to know that being deficient in Vitamin C may also be a contributing factor towards bad breath as well as smoking that destroys Vitamin C. So start popping those vitamin C tablets.

Probably the most common dental disorder is that of the dreaded halitosis. While this is simply a big word to describe bad breath, it is not so easy to get rid of it. Additionally, a lot of people who do suffer from this disorder are not even aware of it until someone else points it out to them. Do you know if you have bad breath? There are two easy tests to find out quickly:

Lick your wrist, or if you wear perfume on your wrist, go ahead and lick the back of your clean hand. Wait a few seconds for the saliva to dry and then sniff. What you smell is what other people smell when you speak.

Take a teaspoon, turn it over so that the hollow side points toward your tongue and then gently scrape the back of your tongue. If you withdraw the spoon and see a white coating, you know you just scraped off a bunch of bacteria. Put the scraping on the back of your hand or your wrist and sniff. What you smell now is what other people smell when you exhale.

If either sniff tests revealed objectionable odors, you may be fairly certain that you are suffering from halitosis. Your case may be temporary, permanent, mild, or strong, depending on the odor. Usually a good brushing, flossing, and tongue scraping will reduce the bacteria that cause the odors, and you will be good to go. In a few cases, however, even those measures do not work, or only work temporarily and for a short period of time. This may be the case if you are taking certain medications, which reduce the amount of saliva your mouth produces. A reduction in saliva will increase the amount of bacteria that accumulate, since they are no longer washed away effectively. Here is a list of medications that are amongst the most likely offenders known to mess with your breath, even if they do not specifically state so:

Most antidepressants

Many allergy, cold, flu, and sinus medications

Blood pressure medication

Diet pills

There are also over the counter substances that may loosely fit into the realm of medication, such as alcohol-based mouthwashes, sugar containing gums, and high protein body building shakes. It is hard to believe just how many substances that you least suspect may actually be culprits in causing you to experience halitosis!

Should you find yourself in the position of experiencing medication induced halitosis due to a dry mouth, there are several steps you can take to alleviate this problem. First and foremost you will need to make sure that you increase your water intake. This may be done by drinking your recommended eight glasses of water, and adding an additional three glasses to that. In between keeping yourself hydrated, you may also wish to chew some sugarless gum to keep your mouth producing saliva. After you eat, be sure to brush your teeth, and perhaps even floss. In the morning and evening, you will need to make sure to not only brush and floss, but also scrape the back of your tongue to do away with any accumulation of bacteria. If you use a mouthwash, be sure to check that it does not contain alcohol, since this substance will further dry out your mouth.

There is a school of thought that suggests that some medications, especially those who are based on garlic, cause the bad breath to occur from the lungs. The theory behind this thought process is the fact that digestion causes the nutrients and other substances to move via blood throughout the body. When the process if finished, the waste products are excreted, and one such process is through the air that is expelled from the lungs. This line of reasoning is not universally accepted and has a number of detractors who believe it to be an invalid theory.

Whatever the truth may hold, if your bad breath persists in spite of your most ardent brushing, flossing, scraping, and fluid intake, try gargling with water to which just a few drops of myrrh extract have been added. This may very well help you to rid yourself of the objectionable odors.