Profuse salivation in a 3-year-old child. What if the baby is drooling? Physiological phenomenon as a variant of the norm

02.08.2019

Often, saliva is released from the mouth of a newborn. He constantly sucks fists and fingers, and his parents start to worry. Some expect the first teeth to erupt, while others associate this with some kind of disease. As a rule, few adults know that all babies from birth and by about 8 months are not yet able to swallow drool. Such a physiological process, which can be observed both day and night, is quite natural. The main thing is to find out the reason and understand why a 2 month old baby is drooling.

Causes

If profuse salivation was noticed at 2 months, do not rush to see a doctor. At this age, the baby shows interest in his little hands, constantly thrusting them into his mouth, causing the salivation reflex. Parents immediately look into the child's mouth and see if his teeth are teething. But for the appearance of teeth it is still very early, they usually begin to appear after 5-6 months.

In infants, it performs several basic functions for the body:

Remineralizing- protected for tooth enamel.
Protective- constant moisturizing of the oral mucosa, reduces the risk of drying out, and also helps to remove microorganisms.
Digestive function- the enzymes present in saliva contribute to the rapid digestion of food.

What to do when a newborn is drooling profusely?

Before taking any preventive action, it is necessary to establish the cause. To do this, the mother must carefully examine the mouth of her child for possible inflammation. If there is no redness inside the oral cavity, then it may be a possible cause. Abundant salivation can be observed both in a 2 month old baby and in older children.

The main symptoms are:

clogged nasal canal
it is very difficult for the child to breathe.

In addition, when the first teeth erupt in infants, the abundant saliva effectively reduces pain. During this period, more than ever, the baby needs to frequently change children's clothes (suits and underwear), as well as use bibs. After all, from excess moisture, the baby's chin can get irritated.

If the crumbs have a rash under the lower lip, then buy special baby creams at the pharmacy, which contain vitamins E and A.

In what cases is it necessary to consult a specialist

A loud cough or wheezing in the chest is one of the signs of increased salivation in babies. In such cases, the mother needs to turn her child over onto the tummy so that the liquid does not accumulate in his larynx.

If salivation alternates with duration, then it is better to contact your pediatrician in order to avoid an infectious exacerbation.

In most cases, this can cause serious illness such as hypersalivation. It rapidly affects the baby's nervous system, and in some cases, contributes to the development of mental illness.

Consultation is important! Only with a thorough examination, the pediatrician can establish the cause and only after that, prescribe an effective treatment.

If a 2-3 month old baby is drooling strongly from the mouth, then you shouldn't worry too much. After all, this is a natural physiological development that can be observed up to 1-1.5 years. Over time, the crumb will outgrow, and all worries will go away!

Drooling is quite common in children under two years of age. But when too much saliva is produced, it can be anxiety for parents.

Roza Serdyuk, chief physician of Okdoctor, a remote telemedicine consultation service, told Letidor when salivation is considered normal and when it can be a symptom of the disease.

Why saliva is needed

Saliva is a clear, colorless liquid that is produced in the mouth by the salivary glands.

Its functions are quite diverse:

Participates in the initial stages food processing: under the action of enzymes, a gradual digestion of fats begins, enveloping food fragments, which facilitates the further movement of the food lump along the digestive tract. Thanks to saliva, we can taste food, we have an appetite.
Protects- the substances contained in it prevent the excessive growth of pathogens; protects tooth enamel from the aggressive effects of acids and alkalis.
Contains substances with analgesic effect, which is important when babies have teeth.
Regulates mechanisms self-cleaning mouth and teeth, washing them from food particles and bacteria.
Participates in formation of speech.

What is considered the norm

Hypersalivation - this is the scientific name for increased salivation - is characterized by increased secretion of the salivary glands, as a result of which too much saliva is secreted in the child.

The baby's salivary glands begin their work in the womb. Their active functioning occurs closer to two months.

In children 3-4 months of age, saliva often flows out of the mouth. This is due to the immaturity of controlling salivation and swallowing saliva (physiological salivation). At this age, the child tries to pull all objects into his mouth, thus recognizing the environment. Often, toys are not sterile, and microbes that enter the body begin to attack it.

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In response to such an "invasion", the salivary glands begin to work, which indicates the correct functioning of the immune system.

When a child develops a runny nose, and he has to breathe through his mouth, the work of his internal organs is instantly restructured. So that when the air is inhaled, the mucous membrane does not dry out, the salivary glands begin to actively produce their secret, which helps to moisten the inhaled air and decontaminate it.

There are also cases when the child chokes on saliva and coughs when breathing through the mouth, since he is not able to breathe and simultaneously swallow the accumulated liquid.

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For children under the age of two, this condition is considered physiological, it is associated with the appearance of teeth.

When do you need a doctor's help?

However, there are pathological conditions that are not physiological and require medical attention.

Pathology of the oral mucosa: for example, thrush, stomatitis; viral diseases that affect the salivary glands themselves (viral sialoadenitis), the so-called false hypersalivation, when the amount of saliva remains normal, and leakage occurs due to the pain syndrome associated with the above conditions.

Pathology of the nervous system (cerebral palsy, brain tumors, encephalitis, pseudobulbar syndrome (cranial nerve damage), etc.).

Problems from the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, enteritis, etc.).

Helminthic invasions.

Poisoning with poisons, barbiturates, mercury, lead, etc.

What to do if your child is drooling heavily

The main thing is to recognize whether profuse salivation is a signal of a dangerous disease. This will be helped by the pediatrician, who, if necessary, will refer the child to a narrow-profile doctor to clarify the diagnosis and correct treatment.

If the increased salivation is due to the imminent appearance of teeth, then the following can be recommended to the mother of the child:

Put bibs on the baby that do not get wet and protect the baby's skin from hypothermia during a walk.

In case of skin lesions with prolonged contact with saliva, lubricate the affected areas with ointment with dexpanthenol or creams that contain retinol and vitamin E.

Offer your baby cool teethers. They will temporarily relieve itching. You can also use pain relieving gels.

Make sure that the objects that the child pulls into the mouth are clean and cannot be swallowed.

Why is the child drooling? This simple but important question worries all mothers, without exception. Consider the causes of hypersalivation in infants and possible ways to get rid of this phenomenon.

To answer the question of why a child is drooling and come to the correct solution to this problem, you need to study the properties of saliva and its functions. Saliva is the biological environment of the body with a transparent, colorless structure.

Salivation into the oral cavity occurs due to the salivary glands. There are several of them in the body: 3 large and many small ones. The main functions of saliva:

Digestive. Saliva contains enzymes that help break down and digest food.
Protective. This liquid constantly moisturizes the oral mucosa and does not allow it to dry out. It also removes germs from the surface of the gums and teeth.
Mineralizing. With its help, the tooth enamel is nourished with minerals and is not destroyed.

10 reasons for increased salivation in babies

There are a number of factors that contribute to a child's excessive salivation. They can be physiological and pathological.

2 physiological reasons

1
Undeveloped swallowing reflex... If a child is drooling at 2 months, do not worry too much about this. Most likely, this is a natural physiological process in the baby's body. At this age, children still have a poorly developed swallowing reflex and they simply cannot swallow all the saliva, so it flows down the chin. If, carefully read the information about its causes, in some cases it is a symptom of serious illness.

At this time, mommy should pay special attention to the hygiene of the baby:

wipe the wet mouth of the crumb with a dry cotton cloth;
wash the crumbs with boiled warm water without any means;
change clothes more often in dry clothes.

The areas of the skin that get saliva must be lubricated with a nourishing cream for both treatment and prevention.

Often, constant moisture can cause irritation, peeling, and rashes on the skin around the mouth. In this case, you must first wash the baby with warm water and wipe it with a dry napkin, gently soaking the moisture, and not rubbing the already painful skin.

Then you need to lubricate the damaged skin with Bepanten ointment or its analogue - Pantoderm. Pantoderm is cheaper, take note. You can also use regular baby cream.
2
Teething of the first teeth... Also, the child has a lot of drooling during teething. During this period, the secretory activity of the salivary glands is greatly increased and can also cause a rash on the skin around the mouth of the baby due to constant moisture. Why does the baby's saliva flow during the appearance of the first teeth? Increased salivation plays an analgesic role in this case, reducing pain and relieving the baby's agony.

Some pediatricians and dentists refute this theory, but most specialists still lean towards this version. You just need to go through this period, you should not intervene with medication in the situation.

Watch the video about the teething of the first teeth:

8 pathological factors causing hypersalivation

If none of these natural causes apply to you, then you are dealing with pathological factors:
1
According to statistics, most often, the problem of increased salivation in children is caused by dental problems, the most common of which is ulcerative stomatitis, an inflammatory disease of the oral cavity.

During ulcerative stomatitis, the mucous membrane becomes covered with painful ulcers. The little man experiences pain when swallowing, so he stops swallowing saliva and it flows out. If you pay attention to this process in a timely manner, then you can get rid of this pathology at an early stage.

Increased salivation in a 2-year-old baby can be caused by an improper bite... Signs of hypersalivation are especially strong at night. If examinations of the body and consultations of specialists such as a pediatrician and a neurologist did not give any result, then visit an orthodontist.

After examination and investigation of the problem, treatment is prescribed. The sooner treatment is started, the easier it will be to get rid of the problem. In children, bite correction is faster than in adults. And having excluded the cause, the consequence will also disappear - hypersalivation.

2
In some cases, gingivitis is the cause of a child's excessive salivation. With this disease, the gums become inflamed and saliva in this case plays a protective role. It is necessary to start therapy in a timely manner so as not to hold out until the inflammation of the salivary glands themselves.
3
Helminthic invasion, cerebral palsy, central nervous system disorders, some diseases of the eyes, ears and throat, malocclusion, diphtheria can also cause high performance of the salivary glands.
4
In case of severe poisoning of both children and adults with substances such as iodine, mercury, pesticides, a lot of saliva is also released. If you have identified these reasons in your case, then you need to urgently deliver the baby to the hospital.
5
Increased salivation in babies 2 months and older can cause thrush or oral candidiasis. It manifests itself as a white coating on the oral mucosa and ulcers. Examine the baby's mouth and if these signs are found, take the baby to the hospital.
6
Allergies can also be an excuse. Only a doctor can determine it, while parents can only diagnose a runny nose. Do wet cleaning in the children's room more often, because allergies to dust are more common in children than reactions to cats or plants.
7
Also, the child is drooling and for problems with the digestive tract... It is necessary to pass tests to exclude diseases such as hepatitis, gastritis, enteritis and other diseases of the digestive system.
8
Some drugs also contribute to the occurrence of this pathology. In this case, the attending physician must adjust the dose of the medication taken or replace the medication with another.

All pathological factors that contribute to the secretion of fluid in the mouth in large quantities require getting rid of the underlying disease that provokes this ailment. When the pathology is eliminated, salivation will return to normal.

8 tips for parenting baby care for physiological hypersalivation

If a newborn is drooling and the reason for this is physiological, then the mother can help her child on her own:

If your baby is drooling while teething, relieve the condition by lubricating the gums with a cooling gel or ointment.

Pay attention to your clothes. As soon as it becomes wet, you must immediately change it to dry, because a damp cloth can cause irritation and rashes on the baby's skin. If you have to change your baby clothes too often, then use special collars.
The most common dummy will literally save you. In the process of sucking on the nipple, the baby swallows saliva at the level of reflexes.
If the baby is 3 months old and is drooling due to teething, then offer the baby a special teether toy to bring the appearance of baby teeth closer. The toy can be chilled in the freezer.
To reduce the painful effect when teeth appear, a special cooling gel will help... You can also put the rubber teether in the freezer for a while and then offer it to your baby. In a few moments, the pain will subside and the baby will calm down.
To avoid the appearance of irritation or to get rid of it, use ointments and creams based on vitamins A and E.
Spend bathing with broths of a string or chamomile. They have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, which will help remove signs of irritation on the little man's skin.
If your child is already 4 months old, you can consult with your pediatrician about the possibility of introducing complementary foods at this age. Solid food encourages chewing, which stimulates the swallowing reflex.
Increase your little patient's intake of water in order to restore lost fluid in the body.

Profuse salivation in children two years of age and older

If the child is 3 years old and drooling, then in any case it is worth going to the hospital. Only specialists can answer the question of why this happens in a child at this age. They will determine if drug therapy is needed in this case or if you can wait out this moment.

During getting rid of these manifestations, it is necessary to compare the methods of treatment to the pathology itself. However, it is impossible to remain idle. Children with this problem can get speech impairment., because a large amount of clear liquid makes it difficult to pronounce words well. Subsequently, this can lead to stunted development and sociopathy.

By the age of 2, babies usually already know how to swallow. If a child is drooling at 2 years of age, and if this is not teething, a speech therapist consultation is necessary.

At this age, molar teeth may erupt in children. This can cause hypersalivation. As in the case of infants, the problem may arise due to ENT - diseases, diseases of the digestive system, stomatitis, gingivitis, allergies. If the problem manifests itself mainly at night, then it is possible that the baby has a helminthic invasion..

Treatment methods

If the trouble causing hypersalivation is of a pathological nature, then treatment must be carried out in order to prevent exacerbation.

Folk remedies

Folk remedies should be in addition to medical methods. For small children, rinsing the mouth with decoctions of the following herbs can help:

nettle broth;
sage tea;
cabbage pickle.

The weed should be picked up by your local pediatrician. You can also use infusions by adding them to a bath with warm water. Here, tinctures of nettle, black elderberry, calendula, St. John's wort or chamomile are suitable.

Yes, there are folk methods of dealing with these manifestations. They are especially effective if oral cavity problems are the cause of hypersalivation.

You can rinse your mouth with a decoction of chamomile or nettle. But you should not use this method as the main one. Rather, it is an adjunctive therapy that complements drug treatment. Rinsing your mouth with herbs will not cope with serious problems.

Also, do not forget that the use of folk remedies should be agreed with the attending physician. Many herbs are highly allergenic, so children are prohibited.

Medicines

The therapy is carried out in two directions:

Therapy of the underlying pathology, which provoked a strong salivation.
Relief of the baby's condition by reducing the pain effect.

If a month-old child or older crumbs are drooling, then drugs are prescribed that lower the functions of the salivary glands.

Saliva is an indispensable helper for a baby in the fight against bacteria and viruses

but they are prescribed in critical situations for example, if a newborn chokes at night, which can be fatal.

The very solution to the trouble depends on the cause of the appearance. In cases with colds and stomatitis, the pediatrician and dentist will prescribe the therapy.

Basic home treatments

At home, to alleviate the condition of the crumbs, you can act in this way:

Applying pieces of ice to the contour of the lips. In the case of a newborn, the ice should be wrapped in a cloth.
Rinsing the mouth with herbs.
Children 9-12 months old can do massage and exercises.
Introducing solid foods into the diet will help develop the swallowing reflex. If the baby is too young, a nibbler can be used.

Conclusion

It must be remembered that strong salivation is a temporary phenomenon, most often associated with the appearance of teeth in crumbs and should be endured. After the main teeth erupt, your child will feel better. However, it is necessary to exclude other factors that caused this trouble. To do this, record the symptoms so that they can be reported at the appointment with your pediatrician.

We offer you to watch a video about one of the most common diseases among children - stomatitis, its causes, symptoms and methods of treatment:

People who are faced with the problem of hypersalivation are interested in the causes of increased salivation, both in adults and in children.

This not only causes serious discomfort, but also indicates dangerous changes in the body and oral cavity, which must be responded to immediately. In this article, we will tell you about the causes of the problem and what needs to be done in this case.

Symptoms

The salivary glands of adults and children can secrete both excess and too little saliva. This happens for various reasons, but there are several main symptoms:

too much liquid is always felt in the mouth. This happens if the excretion rate is exceeded at least twice;
due to the unnaturally large amount of secretion in the mouth, a reflex tendency constantly arises to swallow the accumulated saliva;
taste sensations in the mouth change, sensitivity to the taste of food can be either too strong or insufficient.

It is worth noting that sometimes the feeling of excess saliva in the mouth can be false, this happens when the oral cavity is suffering from an injury. In this case, the patient may complain of imaginary discomfort, although in fact the secretion is normal.

Why is there a lot of saliva in adults?

There are several reasons, and the problem may be associated not only with the disorder of the oral cavity, but also with other dysfunctions of the body.

Disorders of the digestive system - increased acidity in the stomach, upset of the liver and pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, ulcers and others most often contributes to the appearance of hypersalivation.
Thyroid pathology - hormonal imbalance in the body.
Pregnancy - in women, hypersalivation can be observed during this period due to toxicosis. Nausea during pregnancy makes it difficult to swallow saliva, which contributes to its accumulation.
Taking medications - for both men and women, the problem may be caused by taking certain medications. In this case, you need to make sure that the cause of the disease is precisely in taking the drug, and reduce its dosage.
Inflammatory processes in the oral cavity - with diseases such as tonsillitis or stomatitis (for example), the secretion of secretion will increase significantly, but it will be more of a protective reaction of the body.
Diseases of the nervous system - cerebral palsy, Parkinson's, lateral sclerosis, trigeminal neuralgia, etc.;
During sleep, it can be caused by:

mouth breathing;
improper structure of the dentition;
sleep disturbance.

A person with sleep hypersalivation usually does not experience symptoms during the day.

Increased salivation is more a symptom of other, more serious diseases than an isolated problem in the oral cavity. It is because of this, if you find the appropriate symptoms in yourself, you need to consult a doctor.

Causes of increased salivation in children

Children more often than adults suffer from hypersalivation, mainly due to the peculiarities of human development in childhood. The main reasons are:

factor of reflexes - in children in the first year of life, hypersalivation is not a pathology, it is caused by reflective characteristics and should be perceived as inevitable. Teething in a child often causes increased saliva production, since a serious load is placed on the gums and oral cavity as a whole;
worms - this is due to the child's habit of pulling dirty objects into his mouth; with helminths, increased salivation will be observed more often at night than during the day;
an infection or upset of the gastrointestinal tract in infants - a situation may occur when the secretion of secretion is normal, but the infant's saliva is not swallowed due to disorders with swallowing function;
mental disorders - occurs in older children. In this case, it is necessary to immediately contact the pediatrician, who will determine the exact cause of the symptom and send it for consultation to other specialists or prescribe the necessary course of treatment.

Important! If an older child has persistent problems with increased salivation, this can cause speech defects, since in this case it is quite difficult for children to pronounce words correctly and quickly.

Hypersalivation during pregnancy

Due to disruptions in the hormonal balance of a woman's body caused by pregnancy, hypersalivation may occur, most often its symptoms appear in the first 2-3 months after conception.

Toxicosis in the early stages leads to gag reflexes and disorders of swallowing functions. As a result, women may experience not only hypersalivation during pregnancy, but also salivation.

At the same time, it is not at all necessary that the glands began to secrete more saliva, it is just that the swallowing process takes place less often, respectively, it stays in the oral cavity.

Video: saliva study

During sleep

Frequent salivation at night can be triggered by several factors:

the salivary glands "wake up" earlier than the person - during sleep their work is much slower, but sometimes they resume the work process long before the moment when the person begins to be awake;
sleep with an open mouth - if a person, for some reason, sleeps with an open mouth, then in a dream he will be susceptible to hypersalivation. In this case, it is necessary to contact the ENT, because the problem, most often, is in his competence, but it is also necessary to consult a dentist, since the mouth may not close due to the incorrect structure of the dentition;
sleep disturbance - if a person sleeps too deeply, then he actually does not control some of the processes in his body. The human brain is not able to control the secretion of secretions, as a result of which hypersalivation occurs.

If the facts of an increased appearance of saliva in the oral cavity during sleep are not too frequent, and it is not released too abundantly, then there are few reasons for concern.

How to reduce salivation?

The increased salivation and the discomfort it causes make people want to get rid of the problem as quickly as possible. Treatment, in turn, directly depends on the reasons for its occurrence.

Diagnostics

The process of diagnosing the disease plays no less role than the treatment itself. First of all, you need to see a doctor: it can be a dentist or a therapist. If the problems of the occurrence of hypersalivation are beyond their competence, they can refer the patient to an ENT or dentist.

Treatment

If the appearance of a large amount of saliva must be stopped, doctors may prescribe drugs to suppress the overly active robots of the salivary glands (for example, ribal). But if the reason is not specifically in them, but in diseases of other organs or systems, then this will not be the treatment of the disease, but the suppression of its symptoms. You can completely get rid of this problem only after the final elimination of its source.
If the source of the disease is the salivary glands themselves, doctors can remove them, but this happens only as a last resort. Most often, a course of treatment is prescribed, such as cryotherapy, which stimulates the swallowing reflex. Certain drugs may be injected into the salivary glands in order to slow down the secretion.

ethnoscience

There are also folk remedies that can be used at home. So, rinsing your mouth with a decoction of chamomile or nettle can temporarily relieve annoying symptoms. But such treatment is in the form of an auxiliary one, and in case of serious problems of the body, the methods will be completely ineffective.

we take viburnum berries and trample them in a mortar;
fill the mixture with water (approximate proportion: 2 tablespoons of viburnum per 200 ml of water) and let it brew for 4 hours;
rinse your mouth with a product 3-5 times a day.

Additional questions

Increased salivation with angina

With a cold or inflammatory processes in the oral cavity, including sore throat, hypersalivation may indeed appear, since during an illness an infection enters the mouth, which inflames the salivary glands. It is necessary to cure the underlying disease, after which the increased salivation will disappear, as one of its symptoms.

Before or during your period

Quite a rare symptom, you can associate it with changes in the hormonal balance of a woman during this period. If the frequency and amount of saliva in the mouth causes discomfort, you should see a doctor.

Salivation and nausea

Nausea can indeed be the source of this. During toxicosis in pregnant women, for example, the swallowing reflex is disturbed - a person begins to swallow less often and an excess of saliva is obtained in the oral cavity.

After eating a lot of saliva in the mouth - what to do?

Most likely, the glands react this way to too spicy or acidic foods. This is not a very threatening phenomenon, but if it gives you severe discomfort, then you should see a doctor.

Drooling in a newborn is not such a rare occurrence. They usually start to run badly in a two- or three-month-old baby. According to popular statements, profuse salivation indicates the imminent appearance of teeth. And this is despite the fact that, on average, the first teeth begin to appear at 6 months.

Drooling in babies at such an early age has a very definite physiology. When asked why a child is drooling too much, doctors answer: this is a protective reaction of the body. Doctors have determined that the baby is drooling literally like a river in response to a new stage of development, when the baby begins to taste everything literally. It is at 2-3 months that the child begins to pull everything into his mouth - rattles, toys, objects found under his hands, his own legs, etc. Saliva in this situation is a means of protecting the newborn from infections and bacteria that can be on all these objects ... Saliva has been shown to have antibacterial properties.

Why is there so much of it? Doctors say that the salivary glands begin to work more actively, as a result of which the baby's drool flows more strongly. The child, on the other hand, due to the underdevelopment of many systems, does not know how to swallow them. And there is a feeling that there is too much saliva.

Another reason for increased salivation in a newborn is the baby's nutrition. Saliva contains special enzymes that help break down starch and convert it into sugar. And this is both energy for development and food for the mind. In addition, drooling helps to soften and numb the baby's gums during teething.