Causes of bad breath, how to treat it?

One of the most common diseases is halitosis. In the conventional sense, this is an unpleasant smell from the mouth. To be precise, this is not a kind of disease, but rather a symptom that indicates the presence of a particular disease or a variety of causes.

What is Halitosis?

In medical terminology, there are several definitions of bad breath, it has the name "halitosis" or "ostomy". As a rule, the cause of bad breath is vital activity of bacteriain the oral cavity. They multiply in the mouth, in particular: on the gums, in the dental gaps and on the tongue, while secreting sulfur compounds. It is these gases emitted by bacteria that have such an unpleasant odor.

Do I need to treat halitosis? Naturally, since an unpleasant smell can cause a lot of problems in communicating with people, creating discomfort for the patient as well. In addition, the presence of bad breath is a clear sign that a person may develop a more serious disease. Therefore, the sooner the cause of this pathology is established, the better.

When does halitosis occur?

If taken as a percentage, then 80% of patients with halitosis have problems with diseases teeth and mouthwhich are eliminated in the process of dental treatment. A strong odor from the mouth can be the cause of ENT diseases in 10% of cases. And only 10% of patients have bad breath, due to:

• diseases of the respiratory system;
• disturbances in the digestive system;
• hormonal disruptions;
• oncology and autoimmune diseases;
• failure of metabolic processes in the body;
• diseases of the kidneys and liver.

As we found out, the main cause of the unpleasant smell is the diseases of the oral cavity, which are treated by dentists. Only in 20% of cases the patient need help other professionals.

Bad breath - the main reasons

1. Non-compliance with oral hygiene. Even if all the teeth are intact and healthy, hygiene procedures should not be ignored, as irregular and improper cleaning of the teeth can cause bad breath.
2. Food. There are foods, such as onions, garlic and others, that get stuck between the teeth while eating and produce a sharp, unpleasant odor after interacting with saliva.
3. Dental diseases. Periodontal disease, caries, stomatitis and other diseases of the oral cavity are the main causes of bad breath. Treatment, prevention of diseases and hygiene will help get rid of this problem.
4. ENT diseases. Bad breath can be a symptom of one of the ailments, such as sinusitis; rhinitis; sinusitis; tonsillitis and others. Treatment of these diseases will lead to the disappearance of unpleasant odor.
5. Diseases of the stomach and digestive system. Bad breath is a clear symptom of a serious illness. Very many diseases of the digestive system, contribute to the development of bacteria, which leads to a strong odor from the mouth. An ulcer and gastritis can cause a sour smell, this is due to increased acidity.
6. Respiratory system. Patients suffering from pneumonia, bronchitis, tuberculosis, lung oncology, will have a bad breath.
7. Diseases of the endocrine system. A clear sign of the appearance of diabetes can be considered bad breath with a sweet tinge.
8. Alcohol and cigarettes. Smokers and people who use alcohol have a peculiar unpleasant smell. It is caused by toxins in cigarettes and alcohol. Toxic substances are deposited in the body and cause halitosis.

How can a bad smell be diagnosed?

In most cases, the person himself does not feel that his breath is unpleasant. Such is the peculiarity of our body, we feel foreign odors, and we can even not notice our own. In order not to get into an awkward situation, you can make a diagnosis. There are several ways that help identify the presence bad breath.

• Lick the wrist and wait a little time for the saliva to dry, 10 seconds will be enough, then sniff it. If you smell bad, it means that you have bad breath from your mouth and you need to do something about it.
• You can also try breathe in your palm and instantly sniff what you exhale. Or try to stick out the bottom lip, slightly pushing the jaw forward, and the top roll inward and make a sharp exhale with your mouth, then smell what you breathed out. Of course, this method is very doubtful and can not always give the correct result, since it is very difficult for a person to catch his own smell, but still it helps some people.
• The surest way is to ask a loved one. sniff your breath. In this case, note that you need to smell not only exhaled air from the mouth, but also try to catch the smell emanating during exhalation from the nose. To do this, press the tongue to the upper sky and close your mouth well, then exhale with your nose. If it was determined that the unpleasant smell is more pronounced when breathing through your nose, be sure to go to the ENT doctor for an appointment so that he prescribes a treatment for you. After all, an unpleasant smell from the nose can indicate serious disorders or diseases such as sinusitis.

How can you eliminate the unpleasant smell?

There are several ways to help temporarily refresh your breath and make it more enjoyable. But all these methods do not cure the disease, but only temporarily muffle the unpleasant smell. So what can be used for this.

• The most common method is to use chewing gum or peppermints. While you chew gum or dissolve candy, you will not feel a bad smell.
• You can also temporarily eliminate the smell by keeping your mouth hygiene. It is necessary to clear the tongue of plaque using a scraper or the usual tablespoon. It is advisable to perform such cleaning during the morning and evening hygiene procedures.
• Now in pharmacies you can meet special rinses and air fresheners for the oral cavity. The presence of mint in these products makes them effective to use. But with their use, you should be very careful, since most rinses have alcohol in their composition, which with frequent use leads to dry mouth and contributes to the release of an unpleasant odor.
• Temporarily eliminate strong odor from the mouth will help 3% hydrogen peroxide. For this you need to take 1 tsp. hydrogen peroxide and stir it in a glass of water. Rinse your mouth with the resulting solution. Since peroxide has active oxygen in its content, the bacteria die. Such a liquid perfectly washes away plaque in the oral cavity, thanks to the foam that forms during rinsing. It is worth noting that this method will cope with the smell perfectly, but it should be used very carefully, as frequent use may adversely affect tooth enamel. It can be used as a temporary help, but in no case is this method a treatment for halitosis.

How to treat bad breath?

To proceed with the treatment of halitosis, you need to know for sure. reasons for its occurrence. What are the treatments?

• If the cause of bad breath is gastrointestinal problems, you should act according to this method:
  1. Required strictly follow a diet. Completely exclude the use of sugar, even in small quantities it can not be consumed. Give up tea and coffee, as well as milk and cottage cheese. Meat products can be eaten, but only in moderation. You need to diversify your diet, adding to it more fruits, raw vegetables and berries. Chewing fruits and vegetables helps develop the jaw muscles and helps mechanically remove plaque from the tongue.
  2. Need to take enough fermented milk products. It is best if they contain acidophilic bacteria. Such products include: ryazhenka, kefir, yogurt, whey, etc. By eating sour milk products, a person adjusts the work of his digestive system, while improving immunity. This means that harmful bacteria that cause so many problems are oppressed, and the patient's condition returns to normal.
  3. During treatment, one should not forget that dry mouth promotes reproduction of anaerobic bacteria, whose vital activity causes unpleasant smell from the mouth. The composition of saliva has lysozyme, which has bactericidal properties, so it is very important that saliva in the mouth is sufficient. Accordingly, the lack of moisture in the oral cavity leads to the development of bacteria, to prevent this, you need to use a lot of water. A person should drink at least 2 liters of fluid a day, during the hot period, the amount of water consumed should be increased, since a lot of moisture is released through the sweat glands.
  4. It is very important during the treatment period to give the body moderate loads. You can try jogging, it contributes to good blood circulation and a beneficial effect on the entire body, resulting in muscle tone. Yoga exercises work well on the restoration of the body, such exercises are very effective.
• Antibiotic use a very effective method, but it must be strictly supervised by a doctor, otherwise it is possible that their use will contribute to the development of halitosis. Mostly an unpleasant smell is treated with antibiotics of the metronidazole group, they destroy the bacteria causing halitosis. But in no case should such a treatment be applied if the cause of the disease is unknown. If a patient has dysbacteriosis and the tongue does not disappear anywhere, these are signs that the true cause has not been eliminated and after the end of the drug treatment all the symptoms of halitosis appear again.
• If the problem of unpleasant odor is caused by ENT diseases, they must be treated without fail. Do not self-medicate, as this may be more harmful to health than help. Serious problems, such as sinusitis, cannot be cured on their own, and the patient will definitely need qualified doctor help.

Need to learn, the presence of bad breath can indicate that in the body some disease develops. The sooner it is detected, the better, since the treatment carried out in the early stages, gives a good result, and the advanced disease is sometimes very difficult to treat. Therefore, to leave unpleasant breathing without attention is not worth it, it must be treated.

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