How to Stop Swallowing Saliva

It’s normal to swallow small amounts of saliva on a daily basis, but you may swallow excess saliva due to some physical problem or anxiety. Before you find a cure, you have to know the cause of your excess salivation. When you’ve found out why you’re swallowing so much saliva, you can take easy actions to cure this problem. 

In some cases, consulting with your doctor is the best way to deal with your fear of swallowing saliva. Here are some methods or remedies to stop excess salivation.

1. Producing less saliva:

To Stop excess swallow of saliva you have to decrease the production of saliva which can be done by different methods and remedies those are discussed below:

• Drink more water throughout the day: Normally our salivary glands produce excess saliva when we are dehydrated. So, drinking more and more water our salivary glands produce less saliva. When we are hydrated and our body contains a full water ratio, now it produces less saliva. To keep yourself hydrated you should drink at least 8 glasses of water regularly. 
• You should Drink a glass of warm water after you wake up, before and during eating and before going to bed to make your body hydrated as well.

• Avoid sweet or sour drinks and foods: Eating or drinking sour or sweet candies or juices may produce a strong taste sensation. To dilute this sensation salivary glands produce more saliva. Removing sour and sweet foods and drinks from your regular diet plan may help reduce the production of saliva in your mouth.

• Consult with your Doctor: If you are still unknown of your excess swallow of saliva you must think to consult a doctor. This would be a good step to diagnose whether it’s because of a medical reason that causes excess swallowing saliva. If yes, your doctor may treat you accordingly and will change the medications to make things more better. Various infections like, viruses, and stomach related diseases like GERD which can increase your saliva production. Some medicines like antipsychotic drugs, Clozapine etc. increase saliva production.

• Use prescribed medication to treat Hyper-secretion of Saliva: The term use for Overproduction of saliva is Hyper-secretion of saliva. Many medicines used for treating Hyper-secretion of Saliva have side effects that cause sleepiness, laziness, dizziness and high heart rate. You can use Medicines for treating Hyper-secretion of saliva which are:

• Glycopyrrolate (Robinul)
• Propantheline (Pro-Banthine)
• Amitriptyline (Elavil)
• Nortriptyline HCL (Pamelor)
• Scopolamine (Transderm Scop)

2. Swallowing Less Often with a Sore Throat:

• Use hot and cold things: Try hot and cold foods and drinks to get relieves from sore throat. Cold beverages or food numbs your pain receptors in your throat while hot beverages or food may decrease pain and help to clear mucus. Having a sore throat makes you swallow repeatedly and causes pain in your throat.

• Suck throat lozenges: Use throat lozenges that contain pectin. Throat lozenges give you relief from pain and help to stop swallowing saliva so much. Put lozenges on your tongue and let it dissolve. Repeat it every 2 hours to get rid of the sore throat. Note: Don’t give lozenges to children under 5 years old.

• Use Chloraseptic (phenol) spray on your throat: It will calm your throat and also stop excess swallowing of saliva. Spray it 2 times and wait for 15 minutes after spraying. But be careful! Do not swallow the Chloraseptic as it will harm your organs.

• Use warm salty water for decrease in pain: Mix half tablespoon of salt in one glass of warm water. Do gargles of this warm water and put it out, do this process repeatedly. It will give you relief from throat pain and stop excess swallowing saliva. Try not to swallow the salty water as it may harm in some cases.

• Use an air humidifier: Dry air may dry your throat which causes excessive production of saliva. Dry throat leads to sore throat and causes pain when you swallow saliva. The best way to treat a dried throat is to use an air humidifier. Sore throats are comfortable with a humidity level between 40% to 60%. But high humidity levels between 60% to 70% can cause some major problems like additional congestion and increased number of allergens in homes etc.

• Use an elevated pillow: Sleep on an elevated pillow that minimizes sinus drainage. Post nasal drainage causes sore throat and increases your swallowing saliva.

• Consult your doctor: Throat affected by a virus will heal normally in 3-5 days, If this condition lasts above 7 days, this must be immediately consulted by your doctor for proper medication. Consult your doctor if you have symptoms like high fever, cold, chills or breathing difficulty because it may damage your salivary glands badly.

3. Dealing with lump in your throat:

• Feeling of lump in your throat: If you feel a lump in your throat that makes swallowing hard, especially swallowing saliva, you may have globus. Globus isn’t a real lump but it creates a lump like feeling in the throat. Having a globus causes you to swallow frequently. Consult your doctor in case of increase in pain for proper medication for treating globus.

• Consult about GERD and treat it: Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common cause of globus. Acid reflux damages your esophageal tract and creates sensations of lump specially when you swallow saliva. Treating GERD by medication, diet or by lifestyle to get rid of globus.

4. Treating your anxiety issue:

Consult your doctor as excess swallowing of saliva may also be a cause of anxiety. If you don’t have physical issues like hyper-secretion, sore throat or globus etc. then swallowing saliva is the reason for anxiety. Swallowing is a sensorimotor disorder that causes anxiety. This disorder falls in the OCD spectrum. Use proper medication for treatment of this disorder to get rid of anxiety and live a peaceful life.

CONCLUSION:

Some physical problems or anxiety increase the salivation process. To stop swallowing saliva some tips and routine should be followed such as keep yourself hydrated or avoid sweet or sour drinks and foods. These routines decrease formation of saliva. While sore throat also causes excessive production of saliva. Treat sore throat by means of lozenges or Chloraseptic spray to reduce saliva swallowing. Feeling lumps sensation or Globus formation makes you swallow saliva. Sensorimotor disorder which leads to anxiety also increases salivation. Consult your doctor for proper medication for treating these problems and to stop swallowing excess saliva.