Excessive saliva


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Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Excessive saliva — increased amounts of saliva in your mouth — is usually a temporary problem and rarely cause for concern. Normally, your salivary glands produce about 1 to 3 pints (0.5 to 1.5 liters) of saliva a day. However, because swallowing occurs frequently and unconsciously, you don't generally notice the saliva. If you suddenly seem to have excessive saliva in your mouth, it could be because your salivary glands are making more saliva than usual (sialorrhea) or because you're having difficulty swallowing.

Causes
References
  1. Young CA, et al. Treatment for sialorrhea (excessive saliva) in people with motor neuron disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2011;CD006981. http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews. Accessed Sept. 7, 2011.
  2. The head and neck. In: LeBlond RF, et al. DeGowin's Diagnostic Examination. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3661165&searchStr=sialorrhea#3661165. Accessed Oct. 7, 2011.
  3. Prenatal care. In: Cunningham FG, et al. Williams Obstetrics. 23rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6052949&searchStr=sialorrhea#6052949. Accessed Oct. 7, 2011.
  4. Langmore SE, et al. Disorders of swallowing: Palliative care. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America. 2009;42:87.
  5. Fairhurst CB, et al. Management of drooling in children. Archives of Disease in Childhood - Practice and Education Edition. 2011;96:25.
  6. Praharaj SK, et al. Amisulpride improved debilitating clozapine-induced sialorrhea. American Journal of Therapeutics. 2011;18:e84.
  7. Classification of viruses. In: Long SS, et al. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Revised Reprint. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3468-8..50234-0--cesec5&isbn=978-0-7020-3468-8&uniqId=286401642-9#4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3468-8..50234-0--cesec5. Accessed Oct. 8, 2011.
  8. Maheshwari A, et al. Digestive system disorders. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0755-7..00096-8&isbn=978-1-4377-0755-7&sid=1217922271&uniqId=286401642-5#4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0755-7..00096-8--s0015. Accessed Oct. 8, 2011.
  9. Khan WU, et al. Botulinum toxin A for treatment of sialorrhea in children. Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. 2011;137:339.
  10. Parkinson's disease - Nonpharmacologic treatments. Worldwide Education and Awareness for Movement Disorders. http://www.wemove.org/par/par_nphm.html. Accessed Oct. 8, 2011.
  11. Anderson CF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Oct. 20, 2011.
MY01012 Jan. 11, 2012

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