Do you, or somebody you love, have chronic bad breath, or in medical terms, halitosis? The cause for this smelly breath can be as simple as poor dental hygiene or a sign of disease.
Dental Hygiene & Diseases
Poor dental hygiene that leads to periodontal disease can be a source of bad breath. When food particles are allowed to remain in your mouth, they collect bacteria and emit hydrogen sulfur vapors. Therefore your teeth, or dentures, need to be cleaned (brushed) regularly to avoid this vapor causing bad breath.
Bad breath arising out of underlying issues in your mouth include:
Dry Mouth ~ Morning Breath
A dry mouth allows dead cells to accumulate in your mouth and these cells decompose causing a foul odor. Your saliva helps prevent this from happening by cleansing and keeping your mouth moist.
Dry mouth causes include:
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- salivary gland problems
- caffeine, alcohol & tobacco
- chemotherapy & radiation treatments
- sleep & sleeping with your mouth open
- some medications ~ high blood pressure, depression
- some diseases ~ HIV/AIDS, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease
Food
When food particles breakdown they can can cause a foul odor. In some of these bad breath cases, the smell is given off from through your lungs when their pungent oils are absorbed into your bloodstream. Examples are:
- garlic
- onions
- alcohol
- some spices
- other vegetables
Upper Respiratory Infections
Halitosis is also associated with sinus and other upper respiratory infections because nasal discharge and odorous sputum can cause mouth odor, giving you bad breath until the infection clears:
Health Conditions & Diseases
Several illnesses can cause very distinctive breath odor:
- GERD ~ bad breath
- diabetes ~ fruity breath
- hiatal hernia ~ bad breath
- liver failure ~ fishy breath
- kidney failure ~ urine-like breath odor
- lung abscesses ~ very foul-smelling breath
- chronic lung infections ~ very foul-smelling breath
Dieting
If you are dieting, a chemical breakdown occurs during fasting called ketoacidosis. This breakdown can create an unpleasant “fruity” smelling breath.
There are 3 naturally easy ways to temporarily cure your bad breath in a hurry. And most households have the 3 items necessary for these foul odor remedies.
- Brush your teeth with baking soda helps reduce the acidity in your mouth and creates a difficult environment for the growth of bacteria.
- If you have an upper respiratory infections, rinse and brush with hydrogen peroxide. Don’t swallow ~ spit it out.
- Salt water gargle helps clean out bacteria, mucus and food particles bad breath causer from the back of your throat.
If your bad breath persists despite your best self-care remedy efforts, see your dentist or doctor to determine if there is an underlying medical cause.
