We are trying to tackle a new issue that has come up for my hwp. Drooling. He just stands over the sink and the drool just chains out of his mouth pretty much all day long. His Neuro said her patients have tried everything to no avail. She is recommending botox injections into the salivary glands on either side of his cheeks.
Does anyone have any other successful suggestions? I appreciate all of you so much. We are in this together!!
Botox injections gave me terrible dry mouth and caused a bad taste in my mouth. High Dose Thiamine (HDT) helped drooling some, but did not eliminate for me.
I'm thinking that my husband would prefer the dry mouth over the other! He practically chokes on his saliva. I also just read that sucking on drops or chewing gum can help so we are trying that. Also there is a drug that can help... whoopee another pill to take! Man or man this is tough. Thank you for your reply back. You never know what someone may have come across. Blessings to you.
A poster wrote on another thread,
For drooling you can use a few eyedrops that contain atropine, put 3-4 drops in a cup of water and swish it in your mouth then spit it out especially before bed if nighttime drooling is a problem. For runny nose put a couple drops of atropine eye drops on a q-tip and swab your nose. Hang tough...cheers!
I will add that to my Amazon list! Thank you. (I love all of your posts btw!)
Blessings!!
"For drooling you can use a few eyedrops that contain atropine, put 3-4 drops in a cup of water and swish it in your mouth then spit it out especially before bed if nighttime drooling is a problem."
Does this really help?
I have a totally unscientifically proven theory about saliva drooling and other excesses of fluid. I think it is caused by the normal drainage points being blocked. A few years back i had an awful sensation of pressure building in the back of my head every time I lay down. Doctors all looked at me like I’m mad. Eventually chinese traditional medicine doctors gave me diaphragm release massage and did cupping on my back. I continued with excercises stretching my neck and chest. This includes twisting at the trunk, rotate neck and nodding up and down, extreme grimacing to stretch face and poking tongue out as far as possible and side to side while nodding up and down while deep breathing. I feel a whole lot of little pings like rubber bands snapping. I believe it is fascia breaking where it has set in incorrect position in my chest neck and throat. I had been getting a bit of a hump in my back from too much computer. Its gone.
Now I feel fluid running down the back of my throat from saliva I think. Or maybe from back of inner ear or sinuses. I’m not sure how they all connect.
Anyway I think this is all drainage from the glymphatic system maybe? Or just some other waste removal system that carries saliva, phlegm, mucous away. I think if it is blocked at the proper channels it backs up and comes out where it can, in your husband, as drool.
My head is feeling so much better now and I can breathe deeply and properly through my nose for the first time in as long as I can remember. I don’t have pd though, my husband does. I do wonder if some of the accumulated alpha synuclein in PD is also waste that has blocked channels and hasn’t been able to be drained off before solidifying. Lots of “cures” seem to focus on breaking it up but how does it escape after that? Any way this is just a rant from someone the doctor just thinks is crazy. I fixed my own head though and they just wanted me to take antidepressants for some reason. Who’s mad ?
oh wow! That is so interesting. It is worth a try and with PD all kinds of movement is good. Thank you! And aren’t we all just a little bit off our rockers right now??!!
😅😅
Otherwise maybe if it is slimy and thick there are some suggestions here
districtdentistryclt.com/de...
Or Ambroxol can make it thinner. It might drain easier?
pharmeasy.in/molecules/ambr...
“Molecule DescriptionAmbroxol is used to reduce the thickness of mucous in the various airway and lung-related diseases such as asthma and bronchitis (infection and inflammation of airways) associated with abnormal production of mucous in the respiratory tract. It belongs to the class of antitussive medicines used to relieve cough. It works by thinning down the mucus and making the mucus less sticky. It also facilitates the removal of mucous from the airways. Ambroxol is available in the form of tablets, capsules, syrup, oral drops, oral liquid, respules.”
My Dad has Botox injections in his salivary glands on each side and it has really helped him. It makes his speech so much easier. X
Oh that's encouraging because my guys speech can be pretty unclear with this issue.
That is definitely an issue for my husband, his mouth becomes flooded and then he cannot get words out clearly, it's a major issue for him as his speech is already not loud. Atropine drops under the tongue is what our Neuro advised, which didn't help unfortunately.
Chewing gum has largely solved the problem for me. I would be constantly drooling without this.
I chew gum nearly all of my waking hours. Because of this, I use only the best quality gum I can find. No artificial sweeteners, only all natural gum sweetened with xylitol. I have tried many brands and flavors. I prefer the brand PUR, which can be bought through Amazon. The flavors I like are peppermint and cinnamon.
No matter what natural gum you try, the taste generally becomes kind of stale after 15 to 30 minutes. So I swap it out for a fresh piece. In the course of a day, I can easily go through 50 pieces of gum. But it solves the drooling problem and has no side effects.
Hello, I found this on the internet.
If you are having problems with drooling, you might consider an appointment with a speech-language pathologist. These professionals can perform a swallow test to diagnose any difficulties and can also give you some strategies to help with drooling.
Botulinum toxin weakens muscles. Botulinum toxin A (Botox) is sometimes used to decrease saliva production for people who have issues with drooling; botulinum toxin B (Myobloc) is used to treat dystonia. Injection of botulinum toxin A into the salivary glands of the cheek and jaw decreases production of saliva without side effects, except for thickening of oral mucus secretion. Botox is not always effective, but when it works the benefit can last for several months before it wears off and re-injection is necessary. Botulinum toxin A can be an effective treatment for severe drooling, although pills, the patch and mouth drops should be tried first in the interest of cost saving.
I have tried chewing gum, boiled-type ginger sweets, bits of actual ginger, Botox injections and nothing worked for very long - in fact, the Botox didn't work at all for me. The latest attempt was to use Glycopyrronium Bromide and this seemed as though it would work pretty well. The trouble is, though, that it may interfere with the waterworks which I am also on medication for. I stopped GB after three days as it did, indeed, seem to be affecting things below.
Glycopyrronium Bromide comes in bottles of 150ml and with a 10ml syringe and I was prescribed 5ml sublingually. This felt like a ml or so too much but I managed. I held it there for 15 minutes and then chose to spit it out in order to avoid any digestive upset. This worked quite well and I was disappointed to have to stop it.
Anyway, that's my two penn'orth. I wish you the very best of luck!
Oh I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this too. I am afraid that the botox won't work too. Lozenges and gum are helping some and to be able to avoid drugs would be great. Is the GB prescribed or over the counter? He does have urinary issues too so I wouldn't want to mess with that either!! Thank you for your input. Good luck to you as well.
i did botox and it was horrible. atropine ftom eyedrops help but if you take too much youll get bad diarrhea. i use pineapple juice and fresh as it has naturally occurring atropine..hang tough
ya the Botox scares me. How was it horrible? I would imagine it hurts!
hurts like hell they have to get it next to the spine and 2 months of not being able to hold my head up....nightmare. hang tough
The doctor said that they inject the cheek. He's had botox in his neck to help with the rigidity and it seemed to help some. He didn't have any issues with it. I still don't like injecting a Neuro toxin into one's system. The doctor said the amount was so tiny that it would have no adverse side effects.
yes i actually had it for cervical dystonia, i control drooling mostly with pineapple juice..hand tough
Does it also help with drooling at night?
yes it helps ...
Thanks. How much do you drink and at what time?
i just eat pineapple and drink to juice as needed like right before bed etc.
The Botox works well for some but not for others. Now, that has a familiar ring to it doesn't it!
The PG is a prescription thing - there are a few reasons not to take it but I reckon you can prevent most of these things causing mischief if you don't swallow it.
Best wishes.
Try using Sage herb like goes in turkey stuffing. It helps with excess saliva, helps teeth and hair root better too.
Could it be a side effect of his medication maybe ? My husband drooled when taking Pyridostigmine …it has reduced significantly since he has stopped taking it.
I use Listerine mouthwash, about a table spoon every time I am in the washroom ( a lot )
slush it around as much as I can , gargle and then spit it out , (clean the sink) and especially before a nap or night sleep and after I have eaten something.
If I am out and about I carry a very small bottle with me for use in the washrooms I visit.
I had not thought of chewing gum.
You know the priorities in our lives change , little things become important and if it happens to a large number of people at the same time it becomes economicly and socially important. I was born in 1947 the leading edge of the baby boom. IF you have a restaurant , grocery store , hardware store etc then build more washrooms ( many more and make them pleasant and clean. people will come to your establishment with confidence and use the washroom and buy stuff while in your store and come back and if no washrooms available you will not see them very often if ever.
Ha! My husband loves Listerine but hasn't used it in a long time. Not sure why. He did just ask me about a mouthwash yesterday. I got him Bioprene mouthwash and lozenges and he was good with those but I never reordered as he didn't want to use them anymore. Maybe it's time to revisit! I see that Costco carries it.
So true about the washrooms. I am always on the lookout for where one is when I go into a store. I think my body is programmed as soon as I walk in the door!
So Listerine mouthwash helps to stop night drooling?
... and if all else fails, buy some adult bibs made of absorbent material. They will at least help keep his clothes cleaner. I found some pretty snazzy ones online for my dear late hwp.
Ha! He has one that a friend made - mostly for when we eat. Thankfully his drooling happens mostly at night while sleeping. Although that's not the best time actually! If it comes to it, I will look for the ones online. thank you. Hang in there. This is no pony ride!
My neurologist told me that she could prescribe medication for drooling if/when that may become an issue. Not sure which medication that may be, but there must be something that is available or she wouldn't have mentioned it. All the very best!
Yes. I did read about that online but his neurologist was all about the botox so.... And one more pill? ugh. But we might have to revisit that idea for sure. Thank you and the best to you as well.
hi OP, did you find out which remedy has helped with the drooling? my dad is also experiencing that, just like how you describe the visual. i personally think it's too much dopamine/Sinemet (he just recently started and is having side effects like drooling and hallucinations). would love to hear what's worked for your husband!
Hi. I've been out of the PD loop for awhile. Since my husbands diagnosis in 2019, he has not responded like most who have PD. In fact, he just continued to decline. After 4 neurologists we got an appt. with a Neuro with UCSD. She did a thorough assessment and at the end of it said "I don't think he has PD". I knew what that meant and it was my fear from the beginning. Three big tests later it was confirmed that he has Lewy Body Dementia. The drooling continued but in the last year he has had 3 falls requiring a hospital stay which set him back by months each time. He currently is in a skilled nursing facility because he fell and fractured his hip. Another one of my fears! I'm not sure he will walk again. He has had aspiration pneumonia twice, they want him on a G-tube which I'm against as it requires going back to the hospital again, and every day is different. Some days he does great and it seems that he has turned a corner and then the next day... not so much. I know this disease will take his life and I want the quality of it to be as best it can be. So! right now I'm just trying to spend as much times as I can with him cherishing every moment I still have him with me. It has been so hard!!!!!
As far as the drooling before he fell.... botox worked some but he only got one treatment and they do a very small amount to start with. I would have continued with that but drooling is the least of our worries now. They were going to give him a sublingual drop to try but we never got to that. Good luck with the search.
I’m so sorry. That is a tough situation.
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