Causes and treatment of a taste of bitterness in the mouth
Many people experience bitterness in their mouth, the causes of which can be difficult to determine. The human body is a very complex, but clearly organized system, which, at the slightest malfunction, begins to give signals. A taste of bitterness in the mouth is just such a signal.
The regular appearance of a taste of bitterness suggests that there are health problemswithout eliminating which, in time, you can then treat a chronic disease for many years.
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If bitterness in your mouth - what does it mean
A specific unpleasant bitter taste can be felt after eating, in the morning after waking up, during intense physical exertion. A taste of bitterness in the mouth can be short-term or permanent, in some cases it is accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms: heartburn, bad breath, abdominal pain.
Bitterness in the mouth: causes
A taste of bitterness in the mouth appears due to the ingress of a large amount of bile into the esophagus. The bitter taste of bile is due to the content in its composition of substances involved in the digestion of food.
If bitterness appears in the mouth periodically, the reasons are the first thing to be determined. This symptom can be the result of a lifestyle or treatment (malnutrition, prolonged use of potent drugs), as well as various diseases. The most common causes of bitterness are the following diseases and complications:
Dental:
- Reaction to established dental crowns, fillings, prostheses. The composition of the raw materials used for the manufacture of fillings, prostheses, and fixation gels often contains components that cause bitterness in the mouth, and treatment is then useless. Sometimes, to eliminate the bitter taste, a seal or fixing gel needs to be replaced.
- Inflammation of the mucosa and gums. In inflammatory diseases, bitterness is accompanied by bad breath, which may be the result of improper care of the oral cavity and teeth.
Gastrointestinal tract:
- Problems of the duodenum. The bile produced by the duodenum contains acids that, when ingested, corrode its walls. This bile causes bitterness.
- Gastritis. Gastritis implies a change in the composition of gastric juice, as a result, the process of assimilation of nutrients and vitamins slows down, the excretion of toxins from the body worsens, heartburn, bitterness in the tongue, belching appears, it starts to smell bad from the mouth, food for the patient becomes tasteless.
- Lowering the motility of the biliary tract. The reason for the taste of bitterness in the mouth is the following: with a decrease in the motor activity of the stomach, bile accumulates in the bile ducts, with an increase - frequent emissions of bile occur, which enter the oral cavity through the duodenum, stomach and esophagus.
- Gastric dyspepsia. Malfunctions of the digestive tract and difficulty in digestion are often manifested by bitterness in the mouth after eating.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease. This disease is characterized by the release of gastric juice from the stomach into the esophagus and directly into the oral cavity. In this case, bitterness is the result of overeating, abuse of fatty and spicy foods.
- DysbacteriosisUseful bacteria that are in the intestine are involved in the production of vitamins from the food and its digestion, their lack can cause serious problems with the immune system. This imbalance can be caused by overwork, malnutrition, and it causes bitterness in the mouth, the treatment of which is to normalize the intestinal microflora.
- Giardiasis Intestinal parasites cause a disorder in the small intestine, causing sleep disturbance, nausea, bitterness in the tongue.
Also, bitterness in the mouth can be triggered by diseases of the liver, gall bladder, biliary tract, endocrine system, other serious diseases and hormonal disorders are also important. Among the reasons, there are some features of the body, such as:
- Low blood sugar.
- Pregnancy. The bitter taste in women during pregnancy is not a deviation, it can appear due to hormonal changes, compression of the growing uterus of the stomach, weakening of the food sphincter, muscle relaxation. All these phenomena are normal for the female body, they pass in the near future after childbirth.
- Smoking.
- Taking medications to stabilize blood pressure, normalize sugar levels and thyroid function, as well as medicines for arthritis and osteoporosis.
How to determine the cause of bitterness depending on the time of occurrence
If you are wondering why bitterness occurs in the mouth in the morning, you should first pay attention to the condition of the teeth, gums and ENT organs (exclude the following diseases: gingivitis, stomatitis, damage to the integrity of the oral cavity, etc.).
In cases where discomfort is felt immediately after awakening, it indicates that bile entered the esophagus at night. Often this is due to starvation the night before, that is, bile has developed overnight, but it simply has nothing to process. Also, morning bitterness in the mouth can be felt every time after an evening overeating too salty, spicy food, alcohol abuse and strong coffee. The above products violate the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, the body does not have time to remove excess bile in time, which, as a result, is expelled in large quantities into the esophagus.
Bitterness in the mouth after eating indicates malnutrition or stagnation of bile. Moreover, certain products cause discomfort for a long time, some fruits and legumes belong to them. If there are problems with the digestive system, bitterness in the mouth and lips may appear after consumption:
- pine nuts, hazelnuts, other nuts;
- products that are bitter (red pepper, star anise, etc.);
- sweets;
- heavy for digesting dishes (mushroom, with bitterness, fried, spicy, spicy, sour food, fatty meat, smoked meats, food cooked in a fast food chain).
Taking potent antibiotics and other drugs causes dysbiosis, which results in a bitter taste in the mouth, which should disappear soon after the cessation of treatment.
The bitterness that appears during physical exertion indicates stagnant processes. The fact is that active movement accelerates the movement of fluids in the body in internal organs. As a result, bile enters the intestine faster, a specific bile aftertaste appears.
Constant bitterness in the mouth implies the presence of serious diseases and disorders in the functioning of various organs and systems. It can be cholecystitis, gallstone disease, gastrointestinal cancer, mental and endocrine diseases. Only a certified doctor can make a diagnosis and make an appointment.
Bitterness and associated symptoms
What to do if bitterness in the mouth is accompanied by other symptoms? You should certainly tell your doctor about this.
When, in addition to bitterness, pain occurs in the right side, this may indicate cholecystitis or other liver diseases.The pain can be constant or occur only after intense physical exertion.
Bitterness in the mouth in the morning and yellow plaque is a sign of bile duct disease, impaired liver function, exacerbation of peptic ulcer, gastritis, cholecystitis. If the yellow plaque has a greenish tint, and the feeling of bitterness increases significantly after eating fatty foods, you should check the bile ducts, gall bladder and liver for pathologies.
A white coating on the tongue indicates a violation of the microflora of the oral cavity, dental problems or an allergic reaction to the drugs and materials used during prosthetics.
Unpleasant smell, bitterness, a raid of gray-white color, heartburn - these are all signs of problems such as peptic ulcer, dyspeptic disorders, gastritis. A thick white coating indicates thrush and immunity problems. The accumulation of brown plaque in the root region of the tongue is typical for heavy smokers with intestinal intoxication and iron deficiency in the body.
Accompanying bitterness with nausea means problems of the digestive tract, such as:
- Nastroesophageal reflux disease.
- Eating too heavy, poorly digestible food.
- Viral hepatitis, indigestion, gastric ulcer, biliary dyskinesia.
- Poisoning. Heavy metal poisoning (lead, cadmium, cobalt, mercury, manganese, copper) can occur not only with food, but also through clothing, household chemicals, water.
If in addition to the appearance of a bitter taste, a person complains of constipation or too frequent loose stools, loss of appetite, increased gas formation, sleep disturbance, it is worth examining the intestines and eliminating the likelihood of allergies. If measures are not taken in time, the patient's condition can significantly deteriorate.
Chills, fever, heaviness in the abdomen, hot hands and feet, dryness is felt - all this indicates inflammation of the gallbladder or cholecystitis.
Treatment
If there is bitterness in the mouth, only a qualified doctor should determine the causes and prescribe a course of treatment. But you can also help yourself using diet, traditional and folk remedies.
Often, bitterness in the mouth is only a symptom of more serious diseases, so it is necessary to strive to cure specific diseases. Sometimes, in addition to medicines for the treatment of the main problem, treatment for bitterness in the mouth is prescribed - tablets or drops that stimulate the removal of bile from the body (Allochol), as well as sorbents.
Traditional medicine offers many ways to remove bitterness in the mouth. It is recommended to constantly drink plenty of clean water (from 2 to 3 liters per day), freshly squeezed juices, vegetable decoctions of carrots, celery, parsley, fresh juices from citrus and berries are useful.
At home, you can cook the following tools:
- 1 tsp dry chamomile pharmacy flowers pour a glass of boiling water and insist 20 minutes. Strain and drink the infusion. The daily dose is 1 glass.
- 1 tbsp. l Corn stigmas pour 250 ml. boiling water, bring to a boil, turn off the heat and leave to infuse for a couple of hours. Drink 4 glasses throughout the day.
- 1 tbsp. l Pour flax seeds with water (1 cup), put on fire and boil to a jelly-like state. Ready broth must be filtered, cooled and drunk. Take a glass in the morning and evening.
- Grated horseradish is poured with milk at the rate of 1 part of horseradish per 10 parts of liquid. The resulting composition is heated in a water bath and insisted for at least half an hour. Defend, strain, drink 5 times a day for 1 tbsp. l Bitterness in the mouth should pass quickly enough, after 4 days.
It is possible to treat bitterness in the mouth with the following vegetable juices:
- From carrots. Carrots contain many pectins that help good bowel function and cleanse the body, bioflavonoids that protect the liver, beta-carotenes (contribute to the production of vitamins), phytoncides (nomalize the gastrointestinal microflora).
- From cucumber. Due to the content of a large amount of water and nutrients, this vegetable effectively normalizes the intestinal microflora and improves well-being.
- Beetroot. The complex of organic substances and minerals contained in beets has a beneficial effect on the liver and bile ducts. To improve the taste, beet juice can be mixed with carrot.
- From potato. The bitterness caused by stomach problems will pass if you drink a course of potato juice, rich in starch, fiber, organic acids, minerals, proteins.
If the sensation of bitterness in the mouth is accompanied by a yellow, white or brownish coating on the tongue, it is necessary to clear this coating with one of the available methods:
- Lemon. Lemon juice is an effective way to fight against pathogenic bacteria and inflammatory diseases in the mouth. For rinsing, the juice is diluted with water, for lotions you can use it in its pure form.
- Soda. Soda crystals very well clean the surface of the tongue from plaque. A cotton pad or dense swab should be moistened in water, then in soda and a tongue wiped. Enough 2 to 3 of these procedures per day.
- Toothpaste. Many toothbrushes on the back have a special brush for cleaning the tongue, which can be used to clean the tongue during each brushing, that is, 2 times a day. The movements should be directed from the root to the tip of the tongue.
- Salt water or decoctions of herbs. Decoctions of oak bark, chamomile, sage, and other medicinal plants, as well as saline, have antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Rinsing during the day with such a composition will remove the accumulated plaque and prevent the formation of a new one.
How to prevent the appearance of bitterness
If a bitter aftertaste periodically appears, but then passes without medical intervention, in order to forget about this trouble forever, it will be enough to take simple measures - to adjust the lifestyle and culture of food.
You should limit the use of fried, fatty foods of processed foods, canned foods, smoked meats, heavy sauces (purchased mayonnaise, ketchup), preservatives, as well as yeast baked goods, confectionery fat, chocolate, coffee, cabbage, and legumes. And here cereals, dairy products, vegetables and fruits should be in the diet regularly. Food should be taken in small doses, overeating is best avoided.
Drink at least 1.5 liters daily. water. Pure water cleanses the liver and the whole body well.
It is necessary to avoid stressful situations, and as a sedative take decoctions of mint, lemon balm, tincture of valerian.
An unpleasant aftertaste can be removed and freshened by chewing a cinnamon stick, a leaf of mint or a slice of orange.
Bitterness in the mouth is a reason to refuse (or at least limit consumption) from smoking and alcohol. But physical exercise and regular walks in the fresh air will only benefit.
It is not worth ignoring the bitterness in the mouth, it is better to identify the cause in time and start therapy. But even after a course of treatment, one should not forget about the right lifestyle and good nutrition, this is better for the prevention of health problems in the future.