Thirsty mouth is very common in our daily life. We have dry mouth thirsty symptoms every day. Dry mouth is one of them. The incidence rate of the elderly is relatively high. Let me introduce the causes of dry mouth in the elderly, hoping to help you.
1. Abnormal salivary gland: there are many reasons that can lead to gland destruction or atrophy and salivary secretion disorder, such as Sjogren's syndrome, nasopharyngeal or oral and maxillofacial malignant tumors after radiotherapy, etc.
2. Drugs: the most common side effect of many drugs is to reduce saliva secretion and cause dry mouth. Especially for elderly women, when they take antihypertensive or histamine drugs, they can cause decreased salivary secretion and obvious dry mouth.
3. Systemic condition: the metabolism of salivary gland depends on the systemic metabolism. Such as diabetes, diabetes insipidus, dehydration, hyperthermia, severe vomiting, diarrhea, acute renal failure, polyuria, excessive sweating under high temperature, and so on, all have an impact.
4. Mental and neurological factors: due to the influence of mental factors, central salivary secretion abnormalities can occur. Some patients with neurasthenia often have dry mouth symptoms, but most of them are temporary. Middle aged and elderly women are often accompanied by dry mouth, pain and burning sensation of oral mucosa, which may be due to menopause or suffering from a disease called burning mouth syndrome.
5. Local oral factors: poor nasal ventilation caused by nasal polyps, curved nasal septum and other reasons. People who breathe with their mouth open will have obvious dry mouth symptoms after one night's oral breathing. Missing teeth, dental caries, periodontal disease, improper denture and other factors lead to the decline of masticatory function, the reduction of stimulation to salivary gland and masticatory muscle, and the reduction of salivary secretion.
6. Oral Candida infection: complete denture is used for too long and the distance between jaws is too low; The elderly who wear removable dentures for a long time and do not pay attention to oral hygiene and denture cleaning are particularly vulnerable to Candida albicans, resulting in dry mouth due to the massive reproduction of hyphae. Similarly, the elderly with anemia are also vulnerable to oral Candida.
The treatment of xerostomia includes etiological treatment and symptomatic treatment. For example, drug-induced dry mouth, which can be alleviated by adjusting the drug and its dose. The dry mouth caused by increased saliva consumption can be solved by eliminating the reasons such as mouth opening and breathing. If it is caused by the destruction of salivary gland parenchyma, such as radiotherapy for head and neck malignant tumors and shegren syndrome, symptomatic treatment is mainly used to alleviate dry mouth and reduce complications.
According to the survey and research, a large part of the middle-aged and elderly people in China often suffer from dry mouth and thirst, and they also suffer from dry mouth to varying degrees. In their daily life, they should drink more water and follow the principle of small amount and many times. Pay attention not to be too salty in diet. Drink more porridge or soup. Vegetables and fruits can not only supplement vitamins, but also supplement some water.
1. Combination of dry and thin diet
When eating, try to drink more soup. Pay attention not to be too salty and avoid spicy food.
2. Chewing medlar
Lycium barbarum has a sweet and flat taste. It can nourish the liver and kidney, benefit the essence and eyesight, calm the mind and generate fluid. It has a certain effect on relieving dry mouth. Every morning and before going to bed at night, the elderly can chew about 10 grams of Chinese wolfberry, or decoct 10 to 30 grams of fresh Chinese wolfberry with water.
3. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables with sour taste
Such as hawthorn, apricot, kiwi fruit, strawberry, etc., they are rich in crude fiber, which can effectively stimulate saliva secretion during chewing. This method is not recommended for the elderly with stomach disease or excessive gastric acid secretion.
4. It often contains jujube seeds
After eating jujube, the jujube kernel is contained in the mouth, which also plays a role in promoting saliva secretion. Tunjin yanye can also relieve dry skin, constipation and other symptoms.
5. Often do "Shengjin exercises"
After washing in the morning and before going to bed at night, slightly press the top of the palate with the tip of the tongue every day. After a few minutes, body fluid gushes out. After filling the mouth, stir it with the tongue for several times and swallow it slowly; Or in leisure time, use your tongue to touch your mouth and teeth. When the saliva in your mouth is full, swallow it slowly.
The patient's main complaint of dry mouth is only used as a general diagnostic basis, which needs to be further diagnosed through some objective examinations. The commonly used method is the measurement of salivary flow rate. Under relatively constant conditions, if the flow rate is less than 0.2ml/15min, it can be diagnosed as "dry mouth syndrome". If the flow rate is between 0.2-0.91ml/min, it can be called "salivary reduction".
Sugar cube test can also indirectly judge dry mouth. Put the general edible sugar on the back of the tongue and observe the melting time. If it does not melt completely for more than 30 minutes, it can be diagnosed as dry mouth; If it is completely dissolved in less than 10 minutes, it is normal; If it dissolves in 10-30 minutes, it may be dry mouth. Subjective and objective examinations of taste disorders are often inconsistent, especially in elderly patients. There are many reasons for dry mouth. Therefore, in addition to the patient's main complaint symptoms, a number of examinations should be carried out, including the measurement of saliva flow and the changes of oral mucosa, tongue and teeth. If necessary, systemic examination, such as blood glucose and immune system, should be light to clarify the degree and cause of dry mouth.
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