Mouthwash

[Homely2]

I am on 320 of alvesco a day at present along with fostair mart taken with my trusty aero chamber.

I was on 640 of alvesco, however for the first time I was starting to get some irritations from this, mild oral thrush, joint pain, weight gain and some odd eye issues. So my consultant said to drop down to 320 until I get control of these things and then come back up if my asthma gets worse.

So I am starting to pay attention to all the advice on the forum re mouthwash, and have switched from my cheap supermarket mouthwash to corsodyl original, which seems to have helped.

I have also had a go at my diet to increase the amount of whole grains.

What do other people do re mouthwash, cheap supermarket or the more expensive brands.

[Poobah]

I rinse my mouth with water after inhaler use. Then I brush with Densify toothpaste and don't rinse. Wait 30 minutes and gargle with Listerine or Corsodyl. Don't over use Corsodyl as I believe it can stain your teeth. I've never had thrush, despite having steroid inhaler for decades.

Never rinse after toothpaste or use mouthwash directly afterwards, as you're just washing away the positive effect of the toothpaste. Inhaled steroids can erode tooth enamel, so high fluoride toothpaste was recommended.

[Anselm198 in reply to Poobah]

All Fab advice from Poobah but my dentist told me to avoid Corsodyl but I can't remember why as it was a few years ago

[Scrofulous]

I bought Corsodyl to prevent thrush and my hygienist told me not to use it regularly due to tooth staining. I gargle twice then swallow some water after my inhaler. I use pronamel toothpaste but most mouthwashes are too strong for my mouth. You could try regularly eating live yogurt.

[Nimrod2]

I always clean my teeth after using my preventer inhaler. I mostly use Sensodyne toothpaste. I then use Colgate fluoride mouthwash as recommended by my dentist. I have never had oral thrush. Hope this helps.

[Keem59]

Hi Homely2....There's a great guy out there called Tim Spector..he's a world's top Endocrinologist..and gives amazing advice for what's good for your health. I was advised by a friend to listen to him. I wouldn't be surprised if he mentions mouth wash somewhere down the line. For me I don't use it as I think it's taking away all thr good bacteria...I'd rather gargle with water and then clean my teeth/gums.

[Gareth57]

never bothered with mouthwash, I just have a mug of coffee to wash away any residue. The worst issue I've had is being slightly hoarse if I've been late for work and skipped the coffee until I got there. I've been on Qvar (plus an add on) Fostair 100, and Fostair 200 over the years but since starting Fostair I've been on DPI's if that makes a difference?

[Merryroundabout]

I was on 640 of Alvesco for a few weeks following a flare (usually on 80 or 160) but fortunately didn’t get any of the side effects you mention. I’m on 320 at present trying to get back to normal PF. I do always rinse with water afterwards, then gargle with water, clean teeth (Sensodyne or Densify), drink some water and eat some live yogurt. (All such a faff). I’ve never (touch wood) had oral thrush and have been on daily preventer for about 14 years. I do eat seeded or whole grain bread, have done for years, didn’t realise this is a recommendation. I hope your symptoms improve soon.

[peege]

Hi, I don't use mouthwash ever. Read years ago that the alcohol &/or sugar content attack tooth enamel. They might have improved since but if I had to use it I'd definitely not use cheap as they're the usual culprit for horrible additives.My regime is : drink a little water first, use inhaler once (with spacer), have a thorough gargle with as much water as possible, mouth rinse before 2nd puff (always having waited at least 30 seconds between inhalations as per directions on PR course 2013) followed by big long gargle & mouth rinse. I'll only then have breakfast/ brunch which usually contains live yogurt. Convoluted but I've never had thrush again since doing it.

Sometimes I'd wondered if different types of inhaler are more likely to affect us thrush wise, 🤔 I was on Symbicort & a powder one when I had it years ago.

Fungal growths thrive on sugar so if I were you I'd be avoiding it like the plague - including sweetened mouthwash at least until the thrush has cleared up. Hope this helps and good luck with the reduced alvesco. P

[Patk1]

I usually rinsemine with water or whatever drink I have.i always buy non-alcohol mouthwash

[RABS1957]

it’s more likely that’s it’s the neat alcohol in it, that’s my trigger to attacks and mouth ulcers etc it clears out everything and doesn’t allow the good bacteria in your saliva repair but I drink neat shots so stopped that and it’s ok now so far

[risabel59]

I suffered with Oral thrush after inhalers for ages, Alvesco is better than most for me. My dentist told me to stop using mouth wash, but to rinse pre brush with salt water. This has worked really well for me. For dental hygiene, I use floss and plastic picks dipped in a hyperchlorus cleaner i get from the dentist, I use that 3 times a week and a corsodyl gel behind the teeth (it stains) 2 a week. Mouthwashes just promote thrush for me.

[Lysistrata Administrator Community Ambassador]

I've never used mouthwashes of any kind - gargling and rinsing then spitting out a couple of times has always worked for me. And brushing my teeth afterwards, though it's not always immediate as I usually take morning medications first thing and rinse, then eat breakfast, then brush teeth. (No idea what the official advice is but I refuse to eat toothpaste-flavoured cereal).

I'm currently on high dose Fostair Nexthaler, but used to be on top dose Symbicort (and sometimes extra Pulmicort on top of that, when my consultant was trying something weird). Crossed fingers, I've never had oral thrush in 12 years.

Can you ask your dentist? This is their area after all and they can be very helpful - I've talked to dentists about steroid side effects and they've suggested things. And they can advise about mouthwashes probably better than people on here.

[Tiggertheterrier]

the best thing I've found is a strong salt water solution using Himalayan salt, rinse with plain water first then 2 sessions of gargling with the salt water. Relatively inexpensive too!