|
Health
 Nutrition
Tips for better health care
Bad
breathe
Damsel in stress
Take
a walk
Tips
for healthy heart
Dealing
with snoring
Beauty
sleep
Fitness
A
to Z fitness
4 week weight loss programme
Meditation
Exercise
Myths
Gym is Life
Yoga
for better health care
No time for the gym?
Fitness
over fifty |
Bad breath, otherwise known as oral malodour or halitosis, is a build up
of volatile sulphur compounds and other gases produced by bacteria. These
gases form an unpleasant odour, which is noticeable when one speaks or
breaths out. Often this is worse after a night's sleep and is called
"Morning Breath". Oral malodour mainly occurs from an accumulation of real
bacteria if the whole mouth is not thoroughly cleaned daily.
Everybody gets bad breath or halitosis on a regular basis, no matter how
good your oral hygiene. Bad breath is usually caused due to poor diet,
drying of the mouth, not brushing teeth regularly, illness, low fluid
intake, stress, lack of salivary flow and exercise. Some people are more
prone to bad breath (halitosis) than others, and need to pay extra
attention in order to maintain fresh breath.
Do I have bad breathe?
To detect whether you have bad breath, the best way to check is to ask a
family member, partner or a close friend for their opinion. Another simple
way to check if you have bad breath is to lick your wrist. Leave the
saliva to dry and smell the area for any unpleasant odours.
Causes of Bad breathe (halitosis)
-
Smoking, alcohol and coffee causes bad breathe.
-
Mouth, throat and sinus infections cause bad breathe.
-
Poor oral hygiene and dental disease is also a likely cause of bad
breathe.
-
Dry mouth - e.g. speaking a lot or mouth breathing because of nasal
polyps or hay fever for example.
-
Cancer of mouth, throat or respiratory tract.
-
People who have gum disease have bad breathe.
-
Certain foods such as onions, pizza, garlic, alcohol and spicy foods can
cause bad breath.
Home Remedies
-
Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.
-
Regularly brush teeth after meals and before sleeping and floss your
teeth regularly.
-
If the tongue is coated, gently remove once or twice a day using a
tongue cleaner.
-
Avoid frequent spicy foods and excessive alcohol or coffee. Also stop
smoking.
-
Skip sugar. Sweet snacks feed bacteria.
-
Avoid. Skip breath foulers such as onions, garlic, ice- cream, and
coffee.
Visit a Dentist/Doctor if
-
Home remedies fail to help you.
-
You have any symptoms in addition to the bad breath, which is a dental
problem, for example bleeding of gums, pain, fever, cough, phlegm, horse
voice or any change in the appearance of the mouth, tongue, gums and
throat. 
|