You have probably already know the essentials regarding your oral hygiene and how to keep a fresh breath (or at minimum pleasant for those who speak to you). Brushing your teeth daily, floss and maybe rinse occasionally with a good mouthwash. Never order garlic bread on a first date and always keep chewing gum available. If despite all these precautions your breath is foul, your body is trying to tell you something.
This happens much more often than you think. Poor oral hygiene is not the most common cause of bad breath, Dr. Harold Katz, a dentist and bacteriologist at California Breath Clinic confirms. According to him, if your mouth feels regularly bad it is because it is dry. And in this case the bacteria that live there multiply. At night, while you sleep, saliva is produced in very low quantity or not at all, causing dry mouth and an unpleasant morning breath.
If this is your only concern, you do not actually have anything to worry about, take a brush and voila. But many have dry mouth and therefore bad breath throughout the day. The reason is often a medication. 75% of drugs including antidepressants, antihistamines, and remedies against tension have as a side effect – a dry mouth. So if you have noticed that people move away when you talk to them, ask your doctor if your medication is responsible. If this is the case, it is recommended to drink more water, chew mint leaves or why not change the medication.
In other cases, bad breath is the signal that something is not right elsewhere in your body. And believe it or not, every odor corresponds to a particular problem.
If your breath smells like mothballs
You may have allergies, runny nose, throat or sinusitis. When you have recurrent sinusitis, the bacteria in your mouth can transform mucus into toxic protein. If your doctor prescribes antibiotics, you should be fine.
If your breath smells like fruits
You may have diabetes. Sugar circulating in your bloodstream goes to your cells and converts into energy. If this process does not occur, blood glucose levels rise and your cells begin to burn fat to provide energy. The result is a production of acetone (acidic substance found naturally in the body and results in hyperglycemia) which gives your breath this fruity odor. If your doctor sees this kind of breath in you, it will test your blood sugar.
If your breath smells like the milk turned sour
You may be lactose intolerant. This indicates that you do not digest the proteins from dairy products as necessary. Surely you have other symptoms when you eat lactose such as diarrhea, cramps, gas.
If your breath smells like dirty diaper
You may have a problem with the tonsils. Bacteria and food particles can become trapped and form small white balls also called casein. The doctor will then remove them from your mouth and the bad breath will be eliminated.
If your breath smells like something rotten
You may have a lung infection. A foul odor, stronger than the usual bad breath shows the existence of a problem in the lungs (pneumonia or even cancer). Consult a physician.
Bad breath can be extremely embarrassing and debilitating socially, but in most cases this is your body trying to send you a message. So listen to it!