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Encyclopedia > Dry mouth
Xerostomia
ICD-10 code: K11.710
ICD-9 code: 527.7

Xerostomia is the medical term for a dry mouth due to a lack of saliva. It may be a sign of an underlying disease, such as Sjögren's syndrome, poorly controlled diabetes, or Eaton-Lambert syndrome, but this is not always so. Other causes of insufficient saliva include side effects of drugs, medications, or alcohol, trauma to the salivary glands or their ducts or nerves, dehydration, excessive mouth breathing, or previous radiation therapy. The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... In animals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the salivary glands. ... In medicine, a sign is a feature of disease as detected by the doctor. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... Sjögrens syndrome is an autoimmune disorder in which immune cells attack and destroy the glands that produce tears and saliva. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... A side-effect is any effect other than an intended primary effect. ... A drug is any substance that can be used to modify a chemical process or processes in the body, for example to treat an illness, relieve a symptom, enhance a performance or ability, or to alter states of mind. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Trauma can represent: A serious and often body-altering physical injury, such as the removal of a limb. ... The salivary glands produce saliva, which keeps the mouth and other parts of the digestive system moist. ... Dehydration is the removal of water (hydor in ancient Greek) from an object. ... Radiation has a variety of different meanings. ...


Xerostomia can cause difficulty in speech and eating. It also leads to halitosis and a dramatic rise in the number of cavities, as the protective effect of saliva is no longer present, and can make the mucosa of the mouth more vulnerable to infection. One might be looking for the academic discipline of communications. ... In general terms, eating (formally, ingestion) is the process of consuming something edible, i. ... Halitosis (medical term), oral malodour (scientific term), breath odour, or most commonly bad breath are terms used to describe noticeably unpleasant odours exhaled in breathing. ... Dental cavities, tooth decay, or caries is a disease of the teeth resulting in damage to tooth structure. ... The mucous membranes (or mucosa) are linings of ectodermic origin, covered in epithelium, that line various body cavities and internal organs. ...


Treatment involves finding any correctable causes and fixing those if possible. In many cases it is not possible to correct the xerostomia itself, and treatment focuses on relieving the symptoms and preventing cavities. Patients with xerostomia should avoid the use of decongestants and antihistamines, and pay careful attention to oral hygiene. Sipping sugarless fluids frequently, chewing xylitol-containing gum, and using a carboxymethylcellulose saliva substitute as a mouthwash may help. A decongestant is a broad class of drugs designed to symptomatically treat ailments affecting the respiratory system. ... An antihistamine is a drug which serves to reduce or eliminate effects mediated by histamine, an endogenous chemical mediator released during allergic reactions, through action at the histamine receptor. ... It has been suggested that tooth be merged into this article or section. ... A sugar is a carbohydrate which contains the functional group (CH2O)n). ... Xylitol, also called wood sugar, is a polyol used as a sugar substitute. ... Chewing gum Chewing gum is a type of confectionery which is designed to be chewed, not swallowed. ... Antiseptic mouth rinse, often called mouthwash, is an oral hygiene product that claims to kill the germs that cause plaque, gingivitis, and bad breath. ...


Xerostomia is sometimes colloquially called pasties or cottonmouth, the latter especially when occurring as a side effect or during a hangover. A colloquialism is an informal expression, that is, an expression not used in formal speech or writing. ... A hangover, medically termed veisalgia, is the after-effect following the consumption of large amounts of one drug or another. ...


Because of its frequency as a side effect of medication, its presence on lists of symptoms has passed into the realm of parody. An example from the glossary for the webcomic A Miracle of Science, describing SRMD (Mad scientist disease): A side-effect is any effect other than an intended primary effect. ... A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ... In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ... They LAUGHED at my theories at the institute! Fools! Ill destroy them all! A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, either villainous, or benign and scatterbrained. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...

Signs that your loved one has an SRMD infection are: manic laughter, a desire to build a secret lab, hoarding of radioactive materials, sleep deprivation, building armies of oozing zombies in the bathroom, and dry mouth.

  Results from FactBites:
 
Dry mouth - MayoClinic.com (209 words)
Lack of saliva is a common problem that may seem little more than a nuisance, but a dry mouth can affect both your enjoyment of food and the health of your teeth.
Although the treatment depends on the cause, dry mouth is often a side effect of medication.
Dry mouth may improve with an adjusted dosage or new prescription.
Dr. Koop - Dry Mouth- Health Encyclopedia and Reference (910 words)
Dry mouth is a decreased flow of saliva that may be associated with dehydration, radiation therapy of the salivary gland regions, anxiety, the use of drugs (such as atropine and antihistamines), vitamin deficiency, various forms of parotitis, or various syndromes (such as Plummer-Vinson syndrome).
Most cases of dry mouth are caused by failure of the salivary glands to function properly.
Dry mouth is a significant health problem because it can affect nutrition and psychological well-being, while also contributing to tooth decay and other mouth infections.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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