The Causes of Excess Saliva

Some people believe that excess saliva is created when we see something we like, such as our favorite dish, or the more comical explanation, an attractive person. This is not the whole truth. The production of excess saliva can be explained in multiple ways. Most are not alarming, though the final cause is worth knowing and could possibly save your life. First, though, let’s see how salivation works.

Saliva, a mixture of water, electrolytes, mucus, and enzymes,⁽²⁾ is produced by the salivary glands. Saliva then travels through a series of passages until finally making its way into our mouths. What is saliva for? Our bodies produce saliva to make food easier for us to swallow. Saliva also keeps the mouth clean of any large pieces of food. Take note of your dog after he has been outside running all day in the heat of summer. He is no doubt drooling all over your floor. That is because in animals and humans, mostly prominent in dogs, salivation is a way for the body to cool itself. In this sense, sweat is similar to saliva.

In some cases, women who are pregnant produce more saliva than normal, due to changing hormone levels. This is not the case for all women. Other factors such as new dentures, braces, or retainers could be the reason for too much saliva, for the same reason that a piece of candy causes more salivation. Also, if you have been taking drugs with dry mouth as a side effect and stop taking them, you may not be used to how much saliva you are creating. Your salivary glands would be used to the inhibitor of the drug, so when the drug is removed from your system, they may even work overtime. These causes are quite normal and carry no need to worry.

The abnormal and alarming cause of excess salivation is the rabies virus. Though rabies is primarily carried in animals (characterized by white foam coming from the mouth), humans can contract rabies as well. Rabies is contracted when a human comes in contact with an animal’s saliva that is carrying the rabies virus, and, in rare cases, rabies can become airborne.

If you have been bitten by a questionable animal in the last 4-6 weeks, or you have been in an area with a high concentration of infected animals, look for the symptoms explained next. If you are experiencing excess saliva as well as fever, cough, sore throat, restlessness, hallucinations, or seizures, contact your medical care provider immediately (1). Failure to report such symptoms, under the worst circumstances, could result in a coma or death. There are drugs available to help treat excess salivation. Consult your doctor for more information.

Producing too much saliva is generally not of any worry. Review the symptoms mentioned here, and try to identify what may be causing it before worrying yourself about rabies. Again, I stress that if you have any doubts about whether or not you have rabies, please contact a doctor right away.

Sources

(1) WebMD. Rabies-Topic Overview. Retrieved on January 8, 2008 from http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rabies-topic-overview .

Women’s Healthcare Topics. Excess Saliva during Pregnancy. Retrieved on January 8, 2008 from http://www.womenshealthcaretopics.com/preg_saliva.htm .

(2) About.com. Salivary Glands and Saliva. Retrieved on January 9, 2008 from http://biology.about.com/library/organs/blpathodigest3.htm .