Nutrition and diets 

Bad breath - causes, treatment, folk remedies

Smell from the mouth- an unpleasant symptom that a person of any age can face. Halitosis is the medical term for an unpleasant odor from the mouth. Morning breath is a purely physiological phenomenon and is eliminated with an ordinary toothbrush.

In addition, certain foods such as garlic, onions, or cabbage can also be the cause of bad breath. All these manifestations are related to physiological halitosis.

Smell from the mouth

However, more than a quarter of the world's population suffers from pathological bad breath. In this case, neither tons of chewing gum, nor mountains of mint candies, nor newfangled mouth sprays help - the smell still remains unpleasant.

Often its occurrence is associated with the presence of dental problems. In fact, the smell from the mouth does not always indicate diseases of the teeth and gums. In some cases, you can get rid of such a smell on your own, and sometimes you can not do without the help of a specialist.

Causes of bad breath

Chronic bad breath, medically known as halitosis, is most commonly caused by smoking or chewing tobacco, or by improper dental care. Or is it a sign that something is wrong in your mouth:

  • damaged tooth;
  • inflamed gums;
  • tongue disease.

In about 85% of cases, the cause of bad breath is in the mouth. The remaining 25% are accounted for by gastroenterological or respiratory diseases.

If you suffer from bad breath when you wake up in the morning, it may be a sign of dry mouth due to the fact that you breathed through your mouth at night, or you are using certain types of medicine, or maybe everything is explained by some internal disorders.

Halitosis can occur with swelling of the nasopharynx, nasal infection and other diseases of the respiratory tract.

It is caused by tonsillolitis (tonsil stones) - small whitish specks of foul-smelling food debris, dried mucus and bacteria that fill the folds of the tonsils. Enlarged, deeply wrinkled tonsils or frequently recurring tonsillitis are excellent breeding grounds for such deposits. People suffering from these "accumulations" sometimes try to pick them out with cotton swabs or sharp objects, but the situation repeats itself again.

Halitosis can be a sign of serious kidney, liver, and lung disease. Sometimes he warns of intestinal and digestive disorders, including constipation, and indigestion. Any condition that causes frequent vomiting, including bulimia, can cause bad breath.

Although halitosis rarely occurs as a result of stomach problems, it is becoming epidemic among dieters. It's easy to tell if someone is on the Atkins diet or another low-carb, high-protein, or high-fat diet. Almost two-thirds of people who follow one of these diets suffer from bad breath, so they often lose friends along with those extra pounds.

Bad breath is a sign that the body is breaking down fat into ketones, hence the name of this condition - ketosis (elevated levels of ketones). Ketosis is considered a good sign for those who are trying to lose weight, but it can turn into acidosis - an imbalance in the acid-base balance in the blood, and this is a serious disorder that increases the risk of osteoporosis and kidney stones or something even more serious.

Risk factors for bad breath

The appearance of bad breath can be triggered by temporary factors that change the microflora in the oral cavity or malfunctions of individual organs:

insufficient oral care;
excessive consumption of sweets and foods with a strong odor: onions, garlic, corn, cabbage;
carious teeth, inflammation of the gums, stomatitis;
breathing through the mouth causes dry mouth;
plaque on the tongue;
fungal infection of the tongue, lips, inner side of the cheeks (white “grains”);
metabolic disorders: hereditary diseases, diabetes mellitus;
diseases of the intestines and stomach: gastritis, dysbacteriosis, liver or kidney disease, worms;
the concentration of mucus in the sinus sinuses and nasopharynx: chronic sinusitis, sinusitis, seasonal allergies, adenoids, inflammation of the tonsils - chronic tonsillitis;
increased dryness of the oral mucosa and nasopharynx as a result of long-term medication: antibiotics, nasal drops;
emotional stress (stress, fears) cause drying of the oral mucosa;
pathology of the lungs: bronchitis, bronchitis, abscess.

Diseases in which there is a smell from the mouth

By the smell from the oral cavity, you can determine the disease that causes it.

Bad breath can be a symptom of the following conditions:

How to get rid of bad breath

Getting rid of such an unpleasant symptom is not always easy. To prevent the appearance of odor, you should resort to oral hygiene procedures as often as possible, use special toothpastes and rinses that prevent the rapid growth of bacteria, breath freshening sprays, and chew chewing gum.

Such measures are more likely to mask this symptom, but do not affect the cause of its occurrence, and therefore are ineffective. You can completely eliminate bad breath only by solving the problem of its appearance.

If the problem lies only in the rapid multiplication of bacteria that accumulate on the teeth and gums mainly after eating, it is easy to solve with toothpaste. If there is no opportunity to brush your teeth after eating, you can rinse your mouth thoroughly with water, use dental floss.

Also, the state of the oral cavity and the body as a whole is affected by the nutrition and lifestyle of a person. Regular consumption of healthy food rich in vitamins and various microelements, and the rejection of bad habits contribute to the restoration of the microflora of the oral cavity and, as a result, lead to the disappearance of an unpleasant odor (if its cause does not lie in the presence of pathologies of internal organs). In other cases, only a specialist can help solve the problem of bad breath.


Treatment for bad breath

Before starting treatment, we must clearly establish the cause of the smell. But sometimes only a trial treatment can reveal this cause. The main cause of halitosis is plaque on the tongue. And he, in turn, is a mirror of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, it is necessary to look for and identify diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, which are accompanied by the appearance of plaque on the tongue.

  • exclude sugar in any of its manifestations from your diet;
  • exclude black tea and coffee from the diet;
  • exclude milk and cottage cheese;
  • reduce the content of meat dishes in the diet;
  • increase the content of raw vegetables and fruits, berries.

Make it a rule to eat one apple and one carrot a day. Chewing raw fruits and vegetables loads and strengthens the gums, teeth, chewing muscles, in the thickness of which and under which there are salivary glands, that is, they are massaged and saliva is released. In addition, raw vegetables and fruits mechanically remove plaque from the tongue.

Reception of fermented milk products containing acidophilus bacteria:

  • yogurt;
  • curdled milk;
  • kefir;
  • fermented baked milk;
  • biolact.

These products saturate the intestines with beneficial bacteria that help a person in immunity and in digestion. This means that the work of pathogenic bacteria is inhibited, which previously caused fermentation and flatulence in the intestines, diarrhea and colic, and also led to a decrease in immunity.

Liquid

Another important point in the treatment of bad breath is the replenishment of the amount of saliva in the mouth. Or rather, not even so much saliva as moisture in general. Remember who most often has bad breath - teachers, lecturers, teachers of institutes. They talk long and hard every day. As a result, it dries up in the mouth, as a result, anaerobic bacteria develop on the tongue.

In addition, human saliva normally contains a bactericidal substance - lysozyme, which kills various bacteria. And if there is not enough saliva, then there is nothing to kill bacteria with. Therefore, advice to anyone who wants to cure bad breath is to drink at least 2 liters of water a day, that's 10 glasses of water. And in the summer - even more, since most of the moisture also comes out with sweat.

moderate physical activity

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are an extremely effective method of treatment, but without proper medical supervision can lead to even more halitosis. The main antibiotics used today in the treatment of halitosis are antibiotics of the metronidazole (Trichopolum) group.

These antibiotics kill anaerobic microbes, which leads to the rapid elimination of bad breath from the mouth. But if a person has not identified the true reason for where anaerobic bacteria began to appear from, then antibiotic treatment will be like “shooting sparrows from a cannon.”

If the causative disease is not cured, then immediately after stopping antibiotics, the smell from the mouth will return with the same force. In addition, self-medication can be harmful.

Folk remedies for bad breath

We can advise you to rinse your mouth with herbal infusions. For example, chamomile - for this, pour a glass of boiling water over three table boats of chamomile flowers, you need to insist for an hour, then strain and rinse.

You can also prepare a mint infusion - pour half a liter of boiling water over a tablespoon of dry mint leaves or a handful of fresh mint leaves, insist for half an hour and filter.

According to research, magnolia bark has the best effect - it helps to get rid of ninety-nine percent of the pathogenic bacteria in your mouth, which bring bad breath with them.

In addition, you can eat certain foods that will help get rid of halitosis. These products include:

  • green tea;
  • chewing gum containing xylitol;
  • yogurt;
  • carnation;
  • parsley.

There are several other popular ways to get rid of bad breath. Pour a glass of boiling water over two tea boats of wormwood, insist this decoction for twenty minutes, filter and rinse your mouth five to six times a day. Or pour a tablespoon of mint with half a liter of boiling water. Infuse this infusion for an hour and strain. You need to rinse four to six times a day.

Bad breath in a child

An unusual or unpleasant smell from the mouth of a child should always attract the attention of parents, such a case cannot be ignored. After all, an unhealthy smell in the mouth is the first sign of some deviations in the well-being of your child. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately understand the causes of such a state.

Causes of bad breath in a child

Child oral hygiene

Feeling a bad smell in a child, parents, of course, turn to the dentist. Careful adherence to all the proposed recommendations will get rid of unwanted bad breath in a child. From childhood, it is necessary to accustom the child to brushing his teeth. To do this, be sure to use only baby paste. All children's pastes are classified according to the age of the children, so you can easily choose the right option.

Violation of the microflora in the mouth and nasopharynx

This cause of bad breath can manifest itself in children in the case of chronic diseases of the nasopharynx or oral cavity. These diseases include untreated caries, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, adenoiditis, otitis media, bronchopulmonary diseases, diseases of the gastric organs. All of these diseases lead to a violation of the microflora in the baby's mouth and, as a result, to a repulsive odor from the mouth in a child.

salivation disorder

Violation of salivation due to problems with the salivary glands, in particular with their functionality. The work of the salivary glands in the body of any person, including a child, is of great importance. Since it is saliva that performs a kind of protective function, as it cleans the oral cavity of germs with each sip. Saliva contains special enzymes, immunoglobulins and many other components that provide many useful functions in the human body. Saliva cleanses and moisturizes the mucous membrane in the mouth, has a bactericidal effect, provides phosphorus and calcium metabolism.

Pathologies in nasal breathing

Far from harmless phenomenon, which is accompanied by rhinitis, adenoiditis. Due to incomplete nasal breathing, the mucous membrane in the mouth dries out, which leads to the same pathological consequences - dry mouth and, as a result, a violation of the microflora, accompanied by an unpleasant odor in the mouth.

Digestive system disorder

Often, such violations can appear in special age periods of children, for example, when the child is growing intensively, and the internal organs do not keep up with it. During this period, an imbalance in the functioning of the digestive system can occur and also lead to a repulsive odor in the mouth.

A specific smell from the mouth in a child can be caused by such serious diseases as diabetes mellitus, lung-type diseases: bronchitis, tracheitis, abscesses.

Treating bad breath in a child

As you can see, there can be a lot of reasons that can induce an unpleasant odor in a child. Therefore, for effective treatment, competent diagnosis is necessary, which can only be performed by a doctor, and therefore there can be no talk of any self-treatment. The very first thing to do if bad breath is found in a child is to consult a pediatrician.

Only a pediatrician can comprehensively approach the solution of this problem.

Questions and answers on the topic "Smell from the mouth"

Question:Hello! What should I do if I have bad breath?

Answer: Hello! There are various causes of bad breath, but in healthy people, the main cause is due to microbial deposits on the tongue, especially at the back of the tongue. Some studies have shown that simply brushing your tongue can reduce bad breath by as much as 70 percent.

Question:Hello! What does the smell of rotten eggs from the mouth mean?

Answer: Hello! The smell of rotten eggs from the mouth appears when air with an admixture of hydrogen sulfide comes out of the digestive tract. This “aroma” is a consequence of the breakdown of protein products. Such a symptom can be observed, for example, with low acidity of gastric juice, as a result of which food is retained in the stomach for a long time and begins to rot. Putrid belching can also occur as a result of banal overeating.

Question:Hello! How to remove bad breath?

Answer: Hello! This is of course a very delicate topic and a big problem for the person who suffers from it. In fact, this unpleasant problem is many. First of all, you need to check the digestive tract, visit the dentist to make sure that you do not have caries, which in turn also causes bad breath. Try using mouthwash, sold in pharmacies, or chewing gum.

Question:Hello! Recently, as a neat person, they began to remark to me that an unpleasant smell comes out of my mouth. I do not want to go to any doctors, because all my teeth are healthy and I go to the dentist regularly. What can be done in my case?

Answer: Hello! The causes of bad breath can be smoking, alcohol, diseases of the teeth and gums, stomach diseases, and sometimes due to certain medications. There are several ways to get rid of this situation: be sure to thoroughly clean your teeth and gums, and you can even use your tongue (only with a special spatula, and not with the back of a toothbrush), you also need to rinse your mouth, the solution can be prepared like this - 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of chamomile with one glass of boiling water, there is also such a solution, we take 1 tbsp. a spoonful of oak bark and also pour boiling water, insist and filter and rinse before going to bed. If traditional medicine does not help, you should think about the fact that the cause of the unpleasant odor lies elsewhere and be sure to visit a gastroenterologist.

Question:

Answer:

Question:Hello! For a very long time, in the mornings, I have bad breath and bitterness in my mouth. Whatever I tried, but nothing helps. Everything is in order with my personal hygiene, I brush my teeth, before going to bed too, but the bitterness still remains in the morning ... And it doesn’t go away even after brushing my teeth, but only when I eat something or drink sweet coffee. And now I got married and for me it has become just a tragedy, I try to wake up before my husband, but I understand that this is not an option. Help, please advise what to do.

Answer: Hello. Such problems may be associated with pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. Have you contacted a therapist? To begin with, in addition to the examination, I would advise you to do an ultrasound of the abdominal organs and FGDS, and then start from the results obtained.