Very dry mouth by the afternoon

[LightningOne]

Hi all,
I'm generally quite an anxious person so this may be related but I always have a very very dry mouth from 1pm onwards. All morning it would be fine but by the afternoon, I have a dry mouth, dry hair and sometimes dry skin. My lips are never dry/cracked but the inside of my mouth is.

I often have an unpleasant taste in my mouth by the afternoon, which I assumed was oral bacteria reacting to lunch etc, so even tried properly brushing my teeth with toothpaste after lunch but still getting dry mouth and a plaque type odour/taste so it seems the smell/taste it's directly related to the dryness of the mouth rather than food etc.

I drink quite a lot of water but it never moisturises the inside of my mouth. I've also tried sugar free gum and also, often have soups.. Any ideas or solutions which have worked for you? Thanks :)

Check out sjogren's syndrome, it's an autoimmune disorder that causes a dry mouth that persists regardless of what you eat or drink.

Hi, I used to have a dry mouth as a side effect of medication. Boots does a dry mouth spray which is good.

I also use the Biotene range of toothpaste/mouthwash, which is free from sodium laurel sulphate, which can cause a dry mouth. It is expensive though. I think some of the more basic Sensodyne toothpastes are SLS free too, but I can never remember which ones.

Are the soups from a can?

Are you on medication? I found the Omeoprazole very drying. As somebody has already said there is a spray for this purpose I think available on prescription/OTC.

Hi, thanks for the replies so far.
I don't think it's that syndrome as haven't really got any of the other symptoms for it (though it could be a mild version of the syndrome) but I doubt it.

Thanks lyrebird1 - I shall have a look around boots.

Nope, I mean the soups that are in the fridge section of the supermarket. I know that canned soups would often contain high salt so would rather avoid them.

Not on any prescribed medication

Hi OP, have you been tested for diabetes or thyroid issues?

Diabetes can cause awful dry mouth problems (which no amount of drinking fluids can help) and strange tastes in mouth plus dry hair and skin.

Might be a good idea to have a chat with your GP and ask for a blood test just to make sure.