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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Excessive dribbling in a 2 yr old .... has anyone else had similar problems?

19 replies

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 20:02

My ds has just turned 2 and is still dribbling sooo much that he has to wear a bib all day long so that he doesnt get totally soaked! He gets through about 6 or 7 plastic backed bibs in a day. It doesnt seem to bother him at all and miraculously doesn't give him a sore mouth or chin but it doesnt seem right to me. Surely it cant be his teeth .. day in, day out? My dp took him to the dr today (for a different reason) and mentioned it whilst there but he didnt really have any ideas, although he said he would talk to his colleagues. Does anyone else have any experience of this ... I used to just get a bit annoyed about it because I was fed up with seeing him in a bib all the time, but now I am starting to get a little concerned.

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belgo · 26/02/2007 20:05

How long has it been going on for?

My DD dribbled copious amounts when she had hand foot and mouth illness, but the doctor should have picked it up.

If it's a persistant problem (ie. not caused by illness/teething), I wonder if a speech therapist might help?

Millarkie · 26/02/2007 20:12

My ds was similar - got referred (eventually) to ear,nose and throat when he was almost 3. They thought it was due to overlarge tonsils and adenoids and so he had an op. He was also assessed by Speech and Language in case it was due to weak mouth/tongue muscles and given some exercises to do. The operation helped some things (he also had problems eating some foods and would wake a lot at night) but the dribbling remained albeit less, until recently. He is now 5.5 and very rarely dribbly.
Have you tried the 'bandanna' style bibs - they are much less obtrusive for an older baby to wear.
Speech and Lang, also gave us a very patronising leaflet telling us to 'remind your child to swallow, wipe his chin often so he feels it dry (don't do this, it will make it red raw in my experience)' as if he was doing it on purpose

Original poster

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 20:20

He has been like this for as long as I can remember to be honest ... he was a really sicky baby so Im not sure whether they overlapped or not! The dr looked at his throat today (I assume to check out his tonsils etc) and couldnt see anything glaringly obvious. He doesnt seem to be quite as bad at night .... but maybe it just all goes on his sheets, but within minutes of him waking up he is soaked if he doesnt get a bib on straight away. I tried the bandana bibs when he was a little younger but now wont let them anywhere near him! That is half the problem, he is now starting to rebel against wearing bibs at all.

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Original poster

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 20:21

Millarkie, did you use bibs on your ds when he was older?

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Millarkie · 26/02/2007 20:42

Once he got over 2 and a half we generally just bought v cheap t shirts from the supermarket, and would change his top each hour or so. He had tonsils etc out just before his third birthday so it wasn't as bad then - although still visibly dribbly, not shirt-soaking.

zephyrcat · 26/02/2007 20:51

My ds was exactly the same - still is, nd he's 2.8. He has been diagnosed as having very large tonsils and adenoids and is due to have them out asap.

Not all docs will recognise the tonsil thing. Do have a look though. Over the next year or two they start to grow very quickly. When I look into ds' throat, his tonsils cover the whole of his throat... worth checking.

Original poster

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 20:51

Perhaps I should just try to book an appointment with one of the other drs at the surgery that specialise more with children to see if I can get a referral. His speech isnt bad for a 2 year old. Not brilliant but he puts together 3-4 word sentences at times and knows all his animals etc.

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zephyrcat · 26/02/2007 20:52

Does he eat well?

Original poster

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 20:54

He has a very very healthy appetite ... he is definitely getting fussier but does love his food!

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Original poster

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 20:55

I suppose I was most concerned because when I googled excessive dribbling in toddlers etc I found links through to autism pages ... I dont think he fits the profile in any other way though. At least I hope not!

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zephyrcat · 26/02/2007 20:56

My ds was like that too but over the last 6 months or so suddenly can't eat things like meat - I guess where it's uncomfortable to swallow. If you ask your HV she should be able to get someone to check out his speech - just casually, not like a speech therapy appointment or anything.

Original poster

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 21:00

I might give that a try zephyrcat .. to be honest I havent seen the hv since he was tiny. I work full time so have had very little contact. It might be worth making an appointment though for a quick chat before I try the Dr. Saying that I assume he is due a 2 year check some time soon!

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Troutpout · 26/02/2007 21:06

My friends little boy was like this. Her hv referred him to a speech therapist in the end and she said it was due to slack mouth muscles.She was given exercises to do with him.
I think he improved vastly within a year or so...and he's completly fine now

Original poster

cjmummy · 26/02/2007 21:07

This all sounds pretty encouraging ... I think I need to try and get some form of referral by the sounds of it.

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Millarkie · 26/02/2007 22:14

I just remembered - after months of taking ds to the GPs with no results - we eventually got the referral via the Health visitor!
And that was because she came to visit when dd was a baby and I said 'Is this normal?' pointing to ds's top. She got him referred to S and L, and S and L got him referred on to ear, nose and throat.

Mummy2TandF · 26/02/2007 22:29

Hiya - My ds is 2.3 and dribbles all day everyday, it pours off of his chin He was also a very sicky baby as you mentioned. I have been refferred to a concultant because he is tongue tied - apparently this is why he was a sicky baby (taking in too much air while feeding) - the consultant sdaid that the tongue tie wouldn't affect the dribbling but I disagree, he suggeted that ds just had weaker mouth muscles. At his 2 years check my hv advised me to take him to the dr's and ask them to check his tonsils and adanoids as that also causes dribbling - HTH

Original poster

cjmummy · 27/02/2007 11:48

Definitely sounds like the hv is the way to go then. I will try and take some time off and see if I can arrange to see ours then. Thanks for your advice.

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Original poster

cjmummy · 27/02/2007 11:49

Mummy2TandF ... do you keep your ds in bibs all the time or spend your whole day changing tops? My ds is at nursery during the week so constant top changes are pretty much a no-no, I guess I will just have to persist with the bibs for now.

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Mummy2TandF · 27/02/2007 12:24

cjmummy - I am afraid that I don't do either! Ds wouldn't keep a bib on him, he would take it off with 2 minutes , I must admit that I don't change his clthes that often either - it gets too much and with a 16 week old dd, I just don't have the time, it doesn't seem to bother ds at all and I always have a vest and t-shirt under his jumpers so that it doens' really soak through that much HTH

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