Why is my mouth so dry all the time?

Symptoms:

You feel constantly stressed, your palms are sweaty but your mouth is always dry, you’re having difficulty sleeping at night because of worry. You’ve noticed that your mouth is often dry and your eyes are red and feel prickly. You’ve also noticed some pain and swelling in the joints of your fingers.

Every morning you wake up with a dry mouth, and it gets dry when you go about your daily activities.

It could be: Stress and anxiety.

Anxiety causes adrenaline to be produced so that your body is on red alert and is causing your mouth to dry out.

Sjogren’s

syndrome. This is an autoimmune disorder that primarily affects your salivary and lacrimal glands. Your joints may also be involved in the inflammation.

You’re a mouth

breather and the repeated intake of air is drying out your saliva.

Stop it:

De-stress your life in whatever ways you can, learn deep breathing and visualisation (seeing a tranquil scene in your mind’s eye), find a relaxation technique that suits you, take up yoga/meditation.

See your doctor for tests and assessment. Your dry mouth and dry eyes can be treated with drops. Chew gum. You may need steroids for your joints. Try sleeping on your side to hold your mouth shut. During the day, concentrate on breathing through your nose, and chew gum to keep your mouth lubricated. Breathe more deeply so that you don’t pant.