Severe dry mouth at night

Collateral Damage of Cancer Treatment

Even though dry mouth upon waking up is a condition present with many people, this is caused by numerous different things. Some more severe than others, reasons behind this condition may range from a benign thirst to much more serious and life-threatening diseases. However, one of the worst cases scenarios regarding dry mouth during the night is connected with people who experienced chemotherapy in order to get cured from cancer. Namely, the chemotherapy works on a principle of destroying those cells which are likely to replicate fast. Unfortunately, although cancer cells belong to this type, cells involved in saliva production do too. Therefore, chemotherapy often destroys these cells as well, resulting in ones dry mouth and throat, capable of causing pain and discomfort to the patient. Besides the above mentioned therapy, radiotherapy, used for the same purposes, has the same negative effect upon one's health and well-being.

Side-effects of Cancer Treatment Causing Dry Mouth

Radiotherapy may help one greatly while fighting cancer. However, the patient needs to be strong and endure one of the worst side-effects possible. Namely, during the treatment, a person's saliva production is affected. At first, you might experience excessive production of saliva, only for it to stop completely after this period. This is where the real problems start, since you are not able to eat hard or compact food due to this condition. Therefore, you are forced to change your diet to a more liquid one, most probably involving the usage of a feeding tube. This change strikes most people hard and a strong will for survival is a must in order to fight off cancer in such situations.

Moreover, dry mouth affects your speech. Logically, once most of your speech organs are dry, you will have difficulties using them correctly without providing them with moisture by drinking water often. Nevertheless, the worst case scenario involves waking up in the middle of the night in order to experience all the hardships a dry throat may impose upon you. It interferes with your healthy sleep patterns and causes great deal of pain, irritation and discomfort.

A Possible Cure

For those who have been diagnosed with a permanent cessation of saliva production, there is still hope. There are products like the dry mouth pump, excellent for these purposes. Lightweight an very practical, this pump is able to be invisibly mounted on your hips with a small, hardly visible tube going inside your mouth. It is easily programmable to suit all your needs both during the day and while sleeping, making it the best replacement for your natural saliva available.