Dry mouth is observed due to the development of diseases of local localization (pathology of the salivary glands, tonsils, gums) or is a manifestation of a systemic disease of an autoimmune, endocrine or oncological nature. When the mucous membrane dries up, the perception of taste, swallowing, chewing is disturbed, communication is difficult, sore throat and coughing appear.
In addition, a person may be bothered by:
- a sticky feeling in your mouth;
- increased thirst;
- cracks in the corners;
- irritation of the mucous membrane;
- itchy, burning sensation in the throat;
- hoarseness of voice;
- dryness of the nasopharynx;
- unpleasant odor from the mouth.
General reasons
If a sore throat is worried, the reasons may be associated with:
- insufficient drinking regimen, when the volume of liquid drunk per day is less than 500 ml. The symptom is especially pronounced in hot weather, which indicates dehydration of the body, as well as after eating salty food;
- uncontrolled intake of certain medicines in large doses. This applies to vasoconstrictor nasal drops, antihistamines, diuretics, psychotropic drugs, atropine and antihypertensive drugs, which include a diuretic component;
- breathing through the mouth. This applies to the elderly with weakening of the muscles of the jaw, difficulty in nasal breathing due to a runny nose, polyps or a deviated nasal septum. Also, with hard physical labor, when shortness of breath appears, the person begins to breathe through the mouth;
- climacteric period;
- severe perspiration can bother with frequent smoking, alcohol abuse.
Diseases Predisposing Dry Mouth
The causes of sore throat are associated with local infectious and inflammatory processes or systemic diseases. Often, the throat is sore with such diseases:
- parotitis, sialolithiasis, stasis, sialadenitis, in which the salivary glands are affected by the inflammatory process, infectious pathogens or due to the appearance of calculi in the ducts. The consequence of the listed pathological processes is a decrease, including the absence, of saliva secretion. With diseases of the salivary glands, a person is worried about soreness, swelling in the area of the glands, an increase in their volume, as well as colic while eating.
- infectious diseases associated with damage to the digestive tract, when, due to the activation of pathogenic microorganisms, a person experiences severe vomiting, diarrhea, leading to dehydration. The patient is worried about sore throat and nausea, the causes of which are hidden in the presence of infection (cholera, dysentery).
- oncological neoplasms of benign or malignant genesis. In most cases, the glands of the parotid and submandibular localization are affected. Benign formations can be located deep in the glandular tissue or superficially. Clinically, they do not cause pain; when palpated, they are felt in the form of tightly elastic areas with a clear contour of the capsule. With a malignant lesion, the foci are painless, lumpy, dense areas of tissue that do not have clear boundaries. Pain syndrome develops with the progression of the disease. The tumor grows rapidly, affecting the surrounding tissues, as well as distant organs with the formation of metastatic foci. In case of damage to the parotid gland, paralysis of the facial muscles is observed. A sore throat and dry cough can be a consequence of both the spread of the malignant process and a complication of radiation therapy. As a result of the effect of ionizing radiation on the area of the salivary glands, the secretion of saliva is impaired.
- acute or chronic bleeding, burns with a large area of damage, hectic hyperthermia and increased sweating.
- removal of the salivary glands by surgery due to their damage due to trauma, oncopathology or the presence of chronic inflammation, when conservative tactics did not have a sufficient effect.
- nerve damage with a disorder of the innervation of the salivary glands, which leads to dysfunction of the center of salivation. This applies to damage to the glossopharyngeal as well as facial nerves.
- anemia, due to various reasons, contributes to pallor, dryness of mucous membranes, rapid fatigue during physical exertion, psychoemotional lability with a tendency to depression, changes in taste perception, the appearance of tinnitus, shortness of breath and dizziness.
- dryness of the mucous membrane is noted with severe stress and excitement. Especially often the symptom is observed in people prone to experiences.
Systemic diseases
The development of diseases with systemic manifestations contributes to a decrease in the production of saliva, as a result of which a person begins to worry about dry mouth, perspiration and a desire to cough up.
Among such pathologies, it is worth highlighting endocrine diseases:
- when insulin is insufficient, metabolic processes are disturbed with the development of diabetes mellitus. Many of us know people with diabetes. Symptomatically, the pathology is manifested by thirst, dryness, and an increase in daily urine output. Diuresis reaches 4-5 liters per day.
- with thyrotoxicosis, an increase in the content of thyroid hormones in the bloodstream is recorded. Similar hormonal disorders are diagnosed with diffuse toxic goiter, many nodules in the glandular tissue, and also an adenoma. From the clinical symptoms, it is worth highlighting hand tremors, irritability, tearfulness, fear, insomnia, intestinal dysfunction with a tendency to diarrhea, increased heart rate, dry mouth and decreased appetite.
Also, do not forget about hypovitaminosis, in particular a lack of vitamin A, which predisposes to dryness of the oral mucosa, skin, the appearance of peeling and pustular foci. In addition, a person complains of fragility, dullness of hair, conjunctivitis, photophobia, frequent colds with damage to the upper respiratory tract, and hyperkeratosis is also observed.
Insufficient intake of vitamin A leads to severe disorders in which regeneration processes change and atrophy develops. In the salivary glands, due to increased desquamation of the epithelium, obstruction of the saliva ducts occurs, followed by the formation of retention cystic formations. In this case, the glandular tissue is not affected, but the secretion of saliva is impaired.
In the case of progression of scleroderma, fibrosis of the skin, damage to internal organs and blood vessels is noted. Symptomatically, the disease manifests itself with specific skin signs, in which a person's face becomes mask-like, finger movements are disrupted, pain in the joints, ulcerative lesions of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, sclerotic lesions of the lung tissue, myocardium and glomerulonephritis are noted.
Also, the patient is worried about the osteolysis of the phalanges of the fingers, followed by their shortening and deformation. In addition to dryness of the mucous membrane, the frenum of the tongue is shortened. Often, scleroderma is accompanied by Sjogren's syndrome (damage to the glands of the eyes, salivary - with the appearance of dry mucous membranes). The syndrome also accompanies rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other autoimmune pathologies.
Systemic Sjogren's disease is characterized by excessive dryness of the mucous membrane due to lymphoid proliferation of glandular tissues.
Clinically, there is a picture of mumps with edema of glandular tissues, hectic hyperthermia and severe pain in the area of the glands.
Cystic fibrosis is characterized by damage to the glands, which leads to severe insufficiency of the respiratory system, as well as dysfunction of the digestive tract. The first symptoms are observed in babies. They are manifested by paroxysmal coughing, viscous saliva, dry mucous membranes and lack of weight gain, despite a good appetite.
Laryngitis and pharyngitis
Why does it have a sore throat and want to cough? In most cases, inflammation in the oropharynx and larynx is the cause of dryness, perspiration, and dry cough.
- chronic laryngitis is observed as an outcome of an acute inflammatory process, as well as with prolonged exposure to an irritating environmental factor, for example, dust, smoking or cold, dry air. Singers and announcers especially often suffer from laryngitis, whose vocal apparatus is constantly influenced by a provoking factor. Dry mouth is characteristic of the atrophic type of laryngitis. In addition, a person is worried about hoarseness, sore throat and coughing. With an exacerbation of the inflammatory process, the symptoms intensify, sputum appears when coughing, and fever is also possible. With laryngoscopy, dry thinned mucous membrane of the larynx is visualized, on the surface of which there is mucus of a viscous consistency and crust.
- atrophic pharyngitis develops as a result of long-term chronic pharyngitis. Among the predisposing factors, it is worth highlighting inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx (sinusitis), metabolic disorders, caries, smoking, living in an area with polluted air and the frequent use of nasal drops with a vasoconstrictor effect. Symptomatically, chronic atrophic pharyngitis is manifested by soreness, dryness, a feeling of a lump, provoking coughing, and pain when swallowing. Pharyngoscopy reveals thinning, dryness, and mucosal atrophy. The transformation of lymphoid tissue into connective tissue leads to a decrease in the number of glands. The posterior pharyngeal wall is covered with thick mucus and crusts. The mucous membrane takes on a pale, varnished appearance with visible blood vessels.
Persecution can be a manifestation of an allergic reaction. When the mucous membrane comes into contact with allergens, such as dust, wool, pollen or down, allergies develop.
Clinically, a pathological condition can be recognized on the basis of symptoms such as itching, rashes, shortness of breath, cough, lacrimation, rhinorrhea and swelling of the larynx.
Among other reasons, it is necessary to note digestive dysfunction, when a person feels a perspiration due to the reflux of gastric contents through the esophagus, for example, with gastroesophageal reflux disease. As a result, heartburn can be felt as a perspiration.
For effective treatment, it is necessary to initially establish the cause of dryness of the mucous membrane in the oral cavity and the appearance of sore throat. For this purpose, it is recommended to consult a doctor.
