The medical term for bad breath is halitosis. It means an unpleasant odor of the breath of a person. It can be embarrassing and in some cases may even cause anxiety.
HALITOSIS
Halitosis is common among humans around the world and is usually caused by an accumulation of bacteria in the mouth as a result of disease, food, or plaque. Persistent bad breath or a bad taste in the mouth may be a warning sign of gum (periodontal) disease.
WHAT CAUSES BAD BREATH?
There are a number of reasons you might have dragon breath. While many causes are harmless, bad breath can sometimes be a sign of something more serious.
BACTERIA
Bad breath can happen anytime thanks to the hundreds of types of bad breath-causing bacteria that naturally lives in your mouth. Your mouth also acts like a natural hothouse that allows these bacteria to grow. When you eat, bacteria feed on the food left in your mouth and leaves a foul-smelling waste product behind.
DRY MOUTH
Saliva is important because it works around the clock to wash out your mouth. If you don’t have enough, your mouth isn’t being cleaned as much as it should be. Dry mouth can be caused by certain medications, salivary gland problems or by simply breathing through your mouth.
GUM DISEASE
Bad breath or a constant bad taste in your mouth can be a warning sign of advanced gum disease, which is caused by a sticky, cavity-causing bacteria called plaque.
FOOD
Garlic, onions, coffee… The list of breath-offending foods is long, and what you eat affects the air you exhale.
SMOKING
Smoking stains your teeth, gives you bad breath and puts you at risk for a host of health problems. Tobacco reduces your ability to taste foods and irritates gum tissues. Tobacco users are more likely to suffer from gum disease. Since smoking also affects your sense of smell, smokers may not be aware of how their breath smells.
OTHER CAUSES.
Diseases, such as some cancers, and conditions such as metabolic disorders, can cause a distinctive breath odor as a result of chemicals they produce. Chronic reflux of stomach acids (gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD) , espiratory tract infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis, chronic sinus infections, postnasal drip, diabetes, chronic acid reflux, and liver or kidney problems. can be associated with bad breath. Bad breath in young children can be caused by a foreign body, such as a piece of food, lodged in a nostril.
SYMPTOMS
Bad breath odors vary, depending on the source or the underlying cause. Some people worry too much about their breath even though they have little or no mouth odor, while others have bad breath and don’t know it. It can reflect in social behaviours, love and sex. Because it’s difficult to assess how your own breath smells, ask a close friend or relative to confirm your bad-breath questions.
HOW HOMOEOPATHY HELPS????
If you have felt bad breath change your oral hygiene habits. Try making lifestyle changes, such as brushing your teeth and tongue after eating and drinking plenty of water. If your bad breath persists after making such changes consult a physician to find the cause of your complaint.
Use of mouth freshener works only for the time being. Treatment will be successful only when we find and remove the actual cause and treat the condition that actually causes bad breath in your mouth.
Regarding treatment of halitosis in Homeopathy, there are different types of odours which mimic fermented beer, brandy, cabbage, cheese, chicken dung, putrid, fish brine, garlic, sulphur, tobaccos, cadaver, earth, rotten eggs, sour taste, sole leather, garlic, metallic, musty, onions, etc., i.e., odour differs from person to person depending upon the bacteria. Likewise, prescription also differs in Homeopathy from person to person. So, each patient is treated separately i.e., individually.
Homeopathic medicines can act as mouth wash, can remove the disease completely, and can act neurologically and stimulate the body for quality normal secretions. Treatment should be given for the complaints like recurrent cold, sinusitis, dental problems, gingivitis, stomatitis, indigestion, etc.