Sore and dry Mouth - Best way to deal with it ?

[Burke21]

Hi, I've been suffering from a sore and very dry mouth (Sometimes I have difficulty producing much saliva. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to combat this? Thanks

[Veema]

Have you tried eating pineapple? My husband was recommended that.

[Dandygal76]

Hi Burke21

We only have experience of this with medication to actually stop too much saliva that then caused dryness. My dad can do those Jubilee lollies but I would think any weak ice lolly or ice cubes would help. However, when I was researching over too much saliva and trying to get it to stop there were also artificial saliva you can get and tablets that can help increase it. Perhaps your GP or PCUK would be able to help, it was only when the nurses from here were called that we found the solution for too much. It must be quite uncomfortable for you.

[Proud Wife]

My hubby complained of sore and dry mouth for ages but it was only when I looked at it and saw the white patches I realised he had oral thrush. Could that perhaps be your problem? xx

[Burke21]

Hi everyone thanks for the replies! Still trying to find out the exact reason for the sore mouth. Will look into all the suggestions above! I did find a very useful website called Live Better With that sells an artificial saliva spray that seems to be working. Thanks Proud Wife - Heading to a doctor to check! Burke

[Dandygal76]

Glad you are finding some solutions Burke. With these side effects it really is a case of try this, try that, mix it all up a bit, keep going and then hopefully it all just clicks into place. I hope it went well at the dr and it is something easily remedied like thrush. x

[PCUK Nurse Dianne]

HI Burke21,

I hope I may be able to help with some information re the dry mouth. There may be several reasons for this, for example is it due to some of the treatment you may be having currently?

If having chemotherapy, the effects of this may cause you to have oral thrush, which can be very painful. Signs of thrush include white,yellowish spots on the tongue or a white furry coating. Oral thrush (or candidiasis as medically known) is very common in people who are immunosupressed and especially those having different medication regimes, ie chemotherapy. The treatment for thrush includes antifungal solutions that can be obtained by prescription, include Nystatin and miconazole (ie Daktarin gel). It would be important to see your doctor/nurse/treatment centre and ask them to check if you do have thrush.

There are other causes of dry mouth, it may be secondary to treatment, or simply are you taking adequate amounts of fluids. Some simple remedies include some of the following: sucking on boiled sweets, chewing gum often stimulates saliva, pineapple as recommended is helpful, herbal teas that will stimulate saliva, ie lemon, ginger. Also many patients will find iced lollies, refreshing drinks such as ginger ale/ginger beer/lemonade or lemon drinks will also stimulate saliva and will often cleanse the palate. If these basic things do not work it may be worth considering some products from the list below and see if these may help.

Sprays/oral gels/oral products such as bioXtra (http://www.risproducts.co.uk/bioxtra_2013_ce.html) or Biotene gel (http://www.biotene.com/

I would also suggest if you are having a treatment regime that you mention this to your nurse/consultant as they may have a preparation that is used locally that can be given on prescription from the NHS.

I do hope this is helpful and please do feel free to be in contact with us if we can help further.

Dianne

Pancreatic Cancer Specialist Nurse

Pancreatic Cancer UK Support Team

support line: 0808 801 0707

Email: support@pancreaticcancer.org.uk

[healthyford]

http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/conditions/mouth-sores-and-infections/article/ada-11-dealing-with-mouth-sores-and-irritations

I think the above given url can help.