My son drooled incessantly until he was almost three years old. Rare was the photograph in which there was not a string of saliva hanging from his mouth and a large wet stain spreading down his shirt. I usually had to change his shirts several times a day for that reason alone. Because his chin and upper chest were constantly wet, he developed a chronic rash that was impossible to fully heal. Strangers, in their nosy but well-intentioned ways, often assumed he was teething, but he had long passed that stage. In fact, when I researched “drooling in toddlers” on the internet, I could only find information regarding teething or illness – nothing about excessive drooling in older, healthy babies.
Although my husband and I sometimes joked about it, I became more and more concerned that there was an underlying problem, especially because I noticed that none of the other children in his daycare class suffered from this issue. When he was two and a half years old, I asked his pediatrician for advice. She did not seem overly concerned, but referred me to a speech pathologist to determine if the excessive drooling was caused by undeveloped muscle tone around his mouth. She explained this might result in speech issues as he grew older. Although I did not wish for my son to experience such speech issues, I felt hopeful that there might be a solution to the problem and immediately made an appointment.
The speech pathologist gave my son a few tests to determine if there was a problem with his muscle tone. Because he was able to blow a whistle, toot a horn, hold a popsicle stick between his lips, and blow a piece of paper across the table, she did not believe that he had such an oral-motor disorder. She also commended his language ability. Although I was happy to hear he would not likely have a speech impediment, I felt a little frustrated that I still did not have a definitive diagnosis. However, she did give me a few exercises to practice with him that she thought might help his situation.
First, she told me to help him become aware of the fact that his chin was wet. Whenever I wiped his chin, I was to first say, “Oh, your chin is wet” and wipe it clean. Then, I was to point out that his chin was dry. She also suggested that I offer the tissue or washcloth to him to wipe his own chin and that I place a terrycloth wristband on his arm so that he could wipe his wet chin without needing to ask me for assistance. An essential piece of this exercise was positive reinforcement, such as saying to him, “You dried your chin – good job! Doesn’t it feel better to have a dry chin?”
A second exercise involved teaching him the process of swallowing, so that he would learn to get rid of excess saliva that way instead of letting it escape out of his mouth. I would take a sip of water and place his fingers on my throat so that he could feel the swallowing reflex. Then, I would give him a sip of water and gently place my fingers against his throat and vocalize that the water was going down his throat all the way into his belly.
Finally, she encouraged me to have him practice the muscle tone exercises she had given him at the onset of his appointment (e.g. blowing bubbles and whistles).
I tried these exercises at home for several weeks. At first I did not think any changes were occurring, but about a month after his appointment, my husband and I both noticed a significant decrease in the amount and frequency of his drool. When he did drool, he would wipe it away or ask for a tissue almost immediately. Although it is possible that the decrease might have occurred naturally, I credit those exercises in helping speed up the process. Five months later, my son is practically drool-free (save a few moments now and then when he becomes especially excited about something). Granted, this was not a serious problem or illness, but it did cause my son discomfort and I was ecstatic to see the drooling disappear so quickly. I feel confident that if my younger child begins to exhibit similar symptoms, I have the tools and knowledge to assist him and perhaps resolve the issue at an even earlier age.
