Dry Mouth Seriously Affects Quality of Life

Dry mouth – also known as xerostomia – is an abnormally dry mouth and decreased production of saliva.  Xerostomia is a distressing condition that can really affect the quality of life of sufferers.  Xerostomia can arise from many causes; drug side effects, radiotherapy, cancer, certain illnesses or advancing age.  Conventional treatments for dry mouth do not always yield lasting results and drug-therapy is not always successful.

Acupuncture Can Help

Acupuncture can really help people suffering from dry mouth.  There a numerous studies looking at acupuncture for this condition and the results   show that it can make a big difference.  One such study showed that acupuncture for patients who had chronic dry mouth resulting from head and neck radiotherapy following cancer had “significantly better relief of symptoms” than those receiving oral care.  The Throat Cancer Foundation advocate using acupuncture for dry mouth and you can see more of what they say about it here.

Although dry mouth can result following radiotherapy, it can also be the side effect of prescribed medicines.  A patient here in the clinic describes her recent experiences with acupuncture to manage dry mouth.

Claire’s Story

“I was using both accupuncture and prescription drugs to help with pain management when a change in drug levels left me with dry mouth. It soon reached a point where I was struggling to have conversations which left me as frustrated as the pain did. I was so relieved when Sam said accupuncture could help. After two easy sessions I started to notice the dry mouth was improving as the day went on, and once I finished the course of four sessions it was rarely having an impact on my day to day life. The treatment was so simple and easy I’m glad I started it as soon as possible!”

If you or someone you know is suffering with dry mouth, it really is worth giving your local acupuncturist a call. Treating dry mouth with acupuncture is simple and straightforward and many people find the experience of acupuncture very relaxing.