Excessive production of saliva negatively affects the quality of existence and brings a lot of inconvenience to a person. In practice, there are cases of false hypersalivation. This is due to the impaired function of swallowing as a result of injuries of the tongue, inflammation in the oral cavity, pathology of the bulbar nerves. It just seems to a person that there is a large amount of saliva in the mouth. In order to distinguish real hypersalivation from erroneous, it is necessary to find out in more detail how the salivary chains function, and what are the reasons for their increased activity.
Causes of increased salivation in children
Hypersalivation can occur absolutely at any age. The reasons for this phenomenon may be:
- Physiological changes - tooth growth, hormonal changes.
- Pathologies of complex genesis - a violation of the processes of swallowing saliva, neurological abnormalities, paresis orparalysis of the muscles of the larynx, inflammation of the glossopharyngeal nerve, rickets, and so on.
Only a qualified pediatrician can determine the exact cause of increased salivation in a child based on complaints from the mother, father or the child himself and the results of laboratory tests.
How do physiological changes manifest?
The physiological causes of increased salivation always lie in a change in the state of the body. It is absolutely normal when moving from one age group to another. The most common phenomena of "growth and maturation" are listed below.
Teething and growth
A phenomenon characteristic of babies 3-18 months old. An increase in the amount of amylase at this age is necessary for the internal sanitation of the oral cavity, since the exit of the tooth from the gum tissue is accompanied by the appearance of a small wound, which must be constantly moistened and processed. During this period, the baby has increased fatigue, capriciousness, refusal to eat (decreased appetite), a sharp jump in temperature in the child with increased salivation is possible.
Hormonal changes
Adolescence in boys and girls, contrary to popular belief, begins at the age of 12. It is at this age that the first menstruation and morning sperm eruptions appear. The beginning of changes in the "natural status" is accompanied by a restructuring of many metabolic processes, which leads tothe occurrence of sweating, increased salivation, the formation of acne, and so on. To help a teenager survive this difficult stage, you need to take him to the doctor. A qualified specialist will give useful recommendations for taking care of yourself and your body, a nutrition program, and prescribe homeopathic teas or tablets. After passing the first stage of external and internal stabilization of the hormonal background, the phenomena of hypersalivation disappear.
Pathological changes in hypersalivation
It is possible to talk about the presence of pathology with increased salivation only if there are additional painful changes or clear signs of a violation. These phenomena include:
- Inability to swallow saliva. This rare anomaly occurs with increased salivation in a child at 2 years old. With timely detection and treatment, it disappears by 3-4 years. The main signs of a swallowing disorder are difficulty suckling the breast, prolonged drinking, and binge eating.
- Oral diseases are the cause of increased salivation in a child 3 years and older. An extensive group of pathologies, which includes inflammation of the glossopharyngeal nerve, and spastic disorders, and neurological abnormalities. It is very simple to identify these he alth problems in a child - in case of inflammation, the mucous membranes of the oral cavity will be bright red, a characteristic coating will appear on the tongue and gums, swelling will be visible. The neurological profile is characterized by a dramatic change in behavior,convulsive seizures, general inhibition of body movements, a weak reaction to the events taking place around. In addition, there is a general developmental delay - the baby later begins to sit, walk, smile and stand up. An experienced neuropathologist will be able to recognize and correct the pathological condition in time at a scheduled examination.
- Rickets. Lack of calcium and phosphorus in cells and tissues is accompanied by a whole range of unpleasant symptoms: an increase in the circumference of the head and abdomen, diarrhea, curvature of the legs and spine, sweating and baldness, impaired breathing, arrhythmia. In milder cases (at the initial stages of the formation of pathology), you can notice increased sweating, combined with loosening of the stool, profuse salivation, fatigue and bone crunching during sudden movements. After drug correction of this condition, metabolic processes stabilize, and the amount of saliva becomes normal.
Symptoms
The most common symptom of excessive saliva in children is teething. In children in the age category from 4 to 7 months, milk teeth begin to erupt, in connection with this, the body reacts to the process by increasing the secretion of saliva. This is a fairly harmless cause of hypersalvation. After the selection process will return to normal.
Stomatitis is quite common in children with a symptom of hypersalvation. Stomatitis is characterized by a disease of the oral mucosa and is inflammatory. The baby becomesit is quite painful to swallow, and he stops doing it often, as a result of which saliva remains.
Also one of the causes of hypersalvation can be gingivitis. The disease is manifested by inflammation of the gums. Increasing saliva secretion is a protective function of the body.
Increased salivation can be a symptom of clay invasion, as well as a symptom of cerebral palsy.
Ear or throat problems may well be symptoms of hypersalvation.
Be sure to remember: if a child has been poisoned by iodine, pesticides or even mercury, you must immediately take the victim to the hospital. In such cases also, of course, there is profuse salivation.
What to do with increased salivation in children?
Excessive salivation is normal in children, but it can also be a symptom of a wide variety of illnesses. If this symptom is very disturbing, you need to find out the cause of the discharge. The doctor determines the amount of saliva secreted within ten minutes. It is also worth visiting doctors of narrow specializations. This is necessary in order to identify the underlying disease that provokes strong salivation.
If the cause is not yet completely clear, then if irritation occurs, special ointments or creams should be used to alleviate irritation. It is also necessary from time to time to wipe saliva from the chin or lips. To do this, it will be enough to take a clean handkerchief or dry wipes.
With hypersalvation, the doctor prescribes anticholinergics. It's a drugreduces the influence of the nervous system on the organs responsible for the salivation of the child's body, thereby weakening the secretions.
If hypersalivation occurs against the background of a neurological disorder, in such situations it is recommended:
- Therapeutic exercise, cryotherapy, facial massage, radiotherapy.
- They also use homeopathic preparations with anthropin, which are prescribed by a doctor.
Folk methods
Treatment consists in rinsing procedures of the oral cavity with infusions of various herbs and their decoctions. Suitable tea, nettle decoction, infusion of watery pepper, and you can also use oak bark or sage. The mass of secreted saliva is also reduced by vegetable oil or very weakly concentrated potassium permanganate.
There are two good recipes that reduce salivation in both children and adults. It is necessary to pour 2 tablespoons of viburnum, which was mashed in advance. Pour boiling water, cover, wait until it cools completely. Then use the infusion after straining to rinse your mouth, you can drink it throughout the day. In babies, it often happens that saliva is secreted in a normal amount, but the child does not have time to swallow it, as a result, you might think that there are a lot of secretions. In this situation, you need to teach the child to keep his mouth closed, from time to time to swallow saliva.
Exercise
There are not bad exercises that help kids cope with this task.
There is a hole under the jaw, it takes about 5 secondswork out with vibrating movements with your index finger.
Another option: find two points under the tongue at its base, massage them counterclockwise for about 10 seconds.
Slightly below the baby's ears, you can find areas where the jaws touch (close). It is necessary to make small circular movements at the points of contact. First you need to do it with your mouth covered, then tell your child to open his mouth for a while, continue the procedure.
You can put an ice cube on the child's lips. Sometimes you should gargle with slightly warm mineral water. Also, let your child gnaw crackers or carrots to train facial muscles.
