Why does excessive salivation (or hypersalivation) require close attention? The fact is that it can be a symptom of serious health disorders - from kidney problems to gastrointestinal diseases.
Increased salivation? Sometimes it's ok
The rate of salivation is two milligrams per ten minutes. When a person is healthy, he reacts with increased salivation to the smell of food - this is the reaction of taste analyzers located in the oral cavity. The more pleasant the smell, the more secretion is secreted, the faster the appetite flares up - in this way the gastrointestinal tract tells us that it is ready to accept and process food. The glands work without stopping, as they must moisturize the oral cavity, protect the tongue from drying out, as well as the nasopharynx, tonsils and larynx. About two liters of saliva are produced in the human body per day. During the day, increased salivation is the norm. However, during sleep, during dehydration or during stress, it decreases.
Increased salivation: what does this mean?
Hypersalivation can be a consequence of taking certain drugs, for example muscarine, pilocarpine, physostigmine, and others. Oversaturation of the body with iodine, poisoning by pesticides and mercury vapor, myasthenia gravis, auditory neuroma, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, nausea - increased salivation can be triggered by one of these reasons. Any disease associated with disorders of the central nervous system, as a rule, is accompanied by a high secretion. But the most common cause of this disorder is increased acidity, in which the digestive glands are enhanced. Deviations in the work of the salivary glands are divided into groups: associated with diseases of the oral cavity, with deviations in the central nervous system and with irritation of the vagus nerve. In diseases of the oral cavity, salivation can be increased, since the fight against infections that penetrate the body begins in the mouth - it is better to get rid of this rather than swallow it.
The glands can become inflamed and swell, causing pain. With
gastrointestinal diseases, salivation is also increased: with gastritis, ulcers, benign tumors,
the liver and pancreas function are disrupted
, which entails a reflex enhancement of the glands. Hypersalivation occurs when the
vagus nerve is irritated
, which is accompanied by nausea or frequent vomiting. Menopausal changes in the female body, pregnancy, the initial stage of Parkinson's disease, trigeminal neuralgia can also provoke increased secretion. Paralysis of the facial muscles, as a rule, is accompanied by involuntary salivation. However, do not worry about traces on the pillow: night hypersalivation is not a deviation or a symptom - your body simply wakes up before you. However, if you become concerned about increased secretion, you should consult a doctor who, after analyzing the fluid, can determine the cause of the disorder.