MOUTH DRYNESS

Posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 11:26 am

Aging, Sjogren’s Disease (an illness involving dry mouth, dry eyes, and painful joints), certain medications, and radiation treatment over the salivary glands — all result in excessive dryness of the mouth. The mouth-drying effect of certain medicines, understandably, is temporary, but dryness of the mouth due to all of the other causes listed above is permanent. Dryness of the mouth is medically known as xerostomia.

Ordinarily just a nuisance, dryness of the mouth can become dangerous if one has angina pectoris (pain in the chest due to heart disease) and relies upon a tablet of nitroglycerin put under the tongue, where it should quickly dissolve and be absorbed for relief. Also, according to Geriatrics (38#5:16), dryness of the mouth can result in tooth decay if left untreated.

The remedy, of course, is to moisten the mouth by drinking frequently or, better still, by using one of the salivary substitute products, such as Salivart or Xero-Lube, which provide not only water but also certain elements normally present in saliva. Salivary substitute spray products that can be carried in the pocket or in the handbag are now available in most drug stores without prescription.

Now, a correspondent to the New England Journal of Medicine (310:1122) suggests, relief from drug-induced mouth dryness can be even more easily obtained by swallowing tablets of another medication called Bethanechol, which stimulates the salivary flow. A doctor’s prescription is needed for these pills.

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