Dry mouth is a condition when there is absence of sufficient amount of saliva in the mouth. This condition makes the person uncomfortable in speaking, tasting, chewing and swallowing. Almost everybody has a dry mouth in certain times in some conditions like if one feels nervousness, depression, stress, has infections in their mouth and other diseases. There are many causes of dry mouth which can indicate that you have some health problems.
Below are some of the causes of dry mouth:
- If there is a problem in salivary glands and it does not produce enough saliva, this can be the cause of dry mouth. As you know saliva keeps your mouth wet.
- If you are taking any prescription and nonprescription drugs to treat anxiety, pain, depression, allergies, cold and fever, epilepsy, acne, obesity, blood pressure, diarrhea, nausea, asthma, psychotic disorders, urinary incontinence, eye problems and other diseases related to nervous system, there will be dryness in the mouth. Even taking muscle relaxants and sedatives can also make your mouth dry.
- If you have diseases and infections like Sjögren’s syndrome, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, anemia, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and mumps can all cause dry mouth.
- If you are taking treatment for the cancer that involves radiation from head to neck can damage salivary glands which in turn reduce the amount of saliva.
- Chemotherapy is one of the reasons for your mouth getting dry.
- Some conditions such as fever, excessive sweating, vomiting, blood loss can also lead to dehydration.
- Smoking and chewing tobacco can affect salivary glands in producing saliva.