What is thirst and dry mouth? Causes of thirst and dry mouth

1. Oral diseases

Oral diseases such as chronic submandibular gland inflammation, mumps, and oral glandular stones can all lead to oral gland lesions and reduce saliva secretion, thus causing dry mouth symptoms; and many elderly people also experience dry mouth due to aging and reduced function of their tissues and organs and atrophy of their oral glands, which reduces saliva secretion. This type of dry mouth in the elderly is physiological dry mouth, and you can go to the dentistry department for a specialist examination.

2. Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism (hyperthyroidism) can also cause dry mouth. Clinical symptoms include dry mouth, sweating, heat intolerance, thyroid enlargement, and exophthalmos. Hyperthyroidism develops slowly, and early symptoms are not obvious, so it is easy for patients to ignore it. However, with the help of thyroid function laboratory tests, it is easy to get a clear diagnosis.

3. Lungs do not distribute fluid, kidney yin is insufficient

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that dry mouth involves the lungs, kidneys, spleen and stomach. Lung failure to distribute fluid and insufficient kidney yin can cause dry mouth. Eating spicy and hot foods can also cause dry mouth. At this time, drinking water is not enough, and you need to nourish yin and produce fluid. Drinks such as watermelon juice, lotus root juice, pear juice, milk, and sour plum juice can help produce fluid and quench thirst, so you should start adjusting your life from your diet.

4. Diabetes

Diabetic patients often experience dry mouth and thirst in the early stages, which can further develop into polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia and weight loss, i.e. the typical "three mores and one less" symptom. Due to increased blood sugar, diabetic patients experience increased osmotic urination, which causes a large amount of water loss in the body, resulting in dry mouth and a thirsty heart. In most cases, the degree of dry mouth and thirst is proportional to the degree of blood sugar increase. Therefore, dry mouth is one of the signs of diabetes. So if you feel that you often have a dry mouth, it is best to go to the hospital for a check-up.