If it is limited to just mornings, dry throat is not something to be concerned with. Still, a dry throat in the morning is certainly frustrating and it ruins the feeling of waking up refreshed and ready to tackle a new day. Fortunately, this problem can be easily solved, once its cause is identified.
Causes of Dry Throat in the Morning
Dry throat is one of the symptoms of viral infections, like the flu and the common cold. However, if there are no other symptoms, like fever, sneezing, and water eyes, the cause for dryness should be looked for elsewhere.
In many cases, dry throat in the morning is associated with the weather. Very dry and hot or cold weather is bound to strip the moisture from the throat and leave it feeling uncomfortable and itching. In addition, indoor heating during winter seasons is known for reducing the moisture in rooms and often causes dry throat, especially in the morning.
Sleeping habits are another major cause of dry throat in the morning, especially sleeping with the mouth open. Salivary glands are less active during the night because the brain sends signals that there will be no eating and that less saliva is required. This, combined with the open mouth, results in a dry mouth upon waking up.
- The participants were 668 consecutive adults referred for polysomnographic evaluation (PSG) because of snoring and suspected OSA, and 582 adults who were attending a general health check-up.
- Data were obtained from self-administered questionnaires and PSG evaluation. The participants were asked to answer the following question: 'During the last month, did you experience waking up in the morning with a dry mouth?'. The response scale consisted of five categories: 'never', 'rarely', 'sometimes', often', or 'almost always'.
- We classified patients as having dry mouth upon awakening complaint only if they reported experiencing the symptom 'almost always'. The prevalence of dry mouth upon awakening was twofold higher in patients with OSA (31.4%) than in primary snorers (16.4%, P
- The prevalence of dry mouth upon awakening in the control group was 3.2%.
- Logistic regression results indicated that this symptom significantly differentiated OSA patients from primary snorers after adjusting for age, BMI, gender, hypertension, and other classical OSA symptoms (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.34-4.07).
Some lifestyle habits, like smoking, chewing tobacco, and alcohol consumption also strip down the moisture from the throat, in addition to affecting saliva production.
Certain medications, like antidepressants, allergy medications, and medications for hypertension, asthma, pain, colds, Parkinson’s disease, obesity, and acne are known for having dry mouth and throat as a side effect.
General body dehydration due to vomiting, diarrhea, excessive sweating, or simply the inadequate intake of fluids, is another common cause of dry throat in the morning.
Remedies for Dry Throat in the Morning
Using indoor humidifiers and vaporizers during the winter season, especially in the bedroom, is a very efficient way to provide enough humidity to the indoor air and to prevent throat dryness in the morning.
Keeping hydrated during the day also helps a lot, and it is also recommended to keep a glass of water on the nightstand and to take small sips during the night.
People who snore should wear nose strips because they open the nostrils and thus stimulate breathing through the nose and not through the mouth.
Throat lozenges can be taken in the morning, as they provide significant relief for throat problems like pain, itching, and dryness. Gargling with saline solution or sage tea is also recommended, and some people claim that using fluoride rinses also helps a lot with this problem. The old-time favorite, honey with lemon, is recommended for all sorts of throat problems, including dry mouth in the morning.
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