Contents:
- Medical Video: Bad Breath Remedies: How to Get Rid of Chronic Bad Breath
- What is the connection between bad breath and diabetes?
- Why can diabetes trigger bad breath?
- 1. Periodontitis
- 2. Ketone levels in high blood pressure
- What can I do to overcome this diabetes complication?
Medical Video: Bad Breath Remedies: How to Get Rid of Chronic Bad Breath
If you have bad breath, it can be a sign that there is a problem with your health condition. If you have diabetes, your breath can be a way of knowing your diabetes condition. Is bad breath really a symptom of diabetes?
What is the connection between bad breath and diabetes?
The scent of human breath can be used as a hint of a health problem in the body. Just as the symptoms of diabetes smell, ammonia smell or bad breath can be associated with kidney disease or signs of anorexia nervosa. Other diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, and liver disease can also cause different odors in the breath.
Doctors use bad breath, or also called halitosis, to identify diabetes. Recently, researchers have found that checking your breath using an infrared device can effectively identify whether you have symptoms prediabetes or even early stage diabetes. In addition, researchers at Western New England University are testing breathalyzer which can measure blood glucose levels.
Why can diabetes trigger bad breath?
Halitosis or bad breath because of diabetes can be caused by two things. Anything?
1. Periodontitis
Diabetes and periodontitis (gum disease) are interconnected, can even make the condition of both of them getting worse if left unchecked. According to a report in the IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences, an estimated 1 in 3 people with diabetes will also experience periodontitis. Heart disease and stroke, which are complications of diabetes, are also associated with periodontitis.
Diabetes can reduce blood flow throughout your body, including your gums. If the gums and teeth do not receive enough blood intake, they can become weak and more susceptible to infection.
Diabetes can also increase glucose levels in your mouth, increase bacterial growth, infection, and bad breath. Things get worse, when your high blood sugar causes your body to fight infection, which makes healing the gums difficult.
Periodontitis, also called gum disease, includes gingivitis, mild periodontitis, and advanced periodontitis. In this disease, bacteria invade the tissues and bones that support your teeth. This can cause inflammation. Inflammation can affect metabolism and increase your blood sugar, which worsens diabetes. If you experience periodontal disease, it may be more difficult and takes longer to heal than people without diabetes.
Bad breath is a common sign of periodontitis. The signs include:
- red or pale gums
- bleeding gums
- sensitive teeth
- gums recede
2. Ketone levels in high blood pressure
When your body can't make insulin, your cells don't receive the glucose they need to make energy. To compensate, your body switches to another energy reserve, which is by burning fat.
Burning fat and not sugar produces ketones that accumulate in your blood and urine. Ketones can also be produced when you fast or you are on a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet.
High ketone levels often cause bad breath. One ketone, acetone (a chemical also found in nail polish) can cause a nail-like odor in your breath.When the level of ketones in the body surpasses the normal limit, you run the risk of experiencing a dangerous condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Symptoms include:
- A foul odor in your breath
- More frequent urination than usual
- Abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting
- High blood glucose levels
- Hard to breathe
- Lost concentration and dazed
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition, most of it occurs only in people with diabetess type 1, which has uncontrolled blood sugar. If you have these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.
What can I do to overcome this diabetes complication?
Together with neuropathy, heart disease, and other diseases, periodontitis is a common complication of diabetes. However, you can take steps to prevent gum disease or to reduce things that are more severe. Take control of your illness with daily tips like:
- Brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss (use dental floss) every day.
- Don't forget to brush or clean your tongue, because the tongue is the main breeding ground for foul-smelling bacteria.
- Drink water and keep your mouth wet.
- Use sugar-free candy or gum to stimulate saliva.
- Visit the dentist regularly and follow treatment recommendations. Make sure the dentist knows you have diabetes.
- Doctors or dentists can prescribe drugs to stimulate saliva production.
- If you wear dentures, make sure the size is right and release at night.
- Don't smoke cigarettes.
