Salty Taste In Mouth Diabetes

What Causes A Salt Taste In The Mouth

The taste, texture, smell and temperature of a food are detected by the taste buds on the tongue . As a result of the signals sent to the brain, five different taste sensations are formed. These:

• Angle
• Salty
• Umami

People who experience a salty taste in their mouth can express this in different words:

• salty taste in mouth
• Sensation/feeling of salt taste in mouth
• Salty taste in mouth

If you have a complaint of salty taste in your mouth, you should know that this complaint is mostly caused by simple reasons . Salty taste in the mouth may occur as a result of dehydration, oral and dental health problems.

A long time if you live in the mouth the taste of salt and your symptoms over time if rising to enter a doctorate will be useful. Your doctor will treat the underlying cause.

There are some diseases that can cause a salty taste in the mouth. Treating the underlying cause will ease your symptoms.

Salty Taste In Mouth Diabetes

If you understand how a locking gas cap works, then you can understand how diabetes works. All of the cells in your body have a locking gas cap on them. Insulin is the key to the locking gas cap, and glucose would be the fuel for the car. In one form of diabetes, the body totally quits making insulin so you cant get glucose into your cells. In other forms of diabetes, your body makes some insulin but not much as your body needs. Therefore, only a few of the cells can be unlocked and opened to put the glucose inside. Another thing that happens is that some of the locks on the cells become rusty and wont work properly. So even if you have insulin you cant get the cells to open. This is called insulin resistance. If the cells wont open, you cant get glucose inside the cell for energy. The result of all of this is excess glucose in your blood.

Types Of Diabetes. Salty Taste In Mouth Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults and only accounts for 5-10% of diabetes patients. In type 1 diabetes the pancreas doesnt make any insulin at all.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease. It accounts for 90-95% of all the cases of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, either your body doesnt make enough insulin , or the cells in your body ignore the insulin so they cant utilize glucose like they are supposed to. When your cells ignore the insulin, as mentioned above, it is often referred to as insulin resistance. Salty Taste In Mouth Diabetes

Radiotherapy And A Salty Taste In The Mouth

If you have undergone a course of treatment for cancer, you may have a salty taste in your mouth for a while.

Chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer can cause a condition called dysgeusia. According to the National Institutes of Health, dysgeusia distorts a persons sense of taste. This can cause a persistent salty, foul, or metallic taste in the mouth.11

According to the Scientific World Journal, taste disorders are common after a course of cancer treatment. It is estimated that up to 70% of people receiving cancer treatment will experience some degree of dysgeusia.12

Recommended Reading: Is Propel Water Good For Diabetics

> > > Best Diabetes Solution Available

How do you get diabetes?

There are risk factors that increase your chance of developing diabetes. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, prior history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity. Risk factors are less well defined for type 1 diabetes than for type 2 diabetes, but autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved in developing this type of diabetes.

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

People who think they might have diabetes must visit a physician for a diagnosis. They might have SOME or NONE of the following symptoms: frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, sudden vision changes, tingling or numbness in hands or feet, feeling very tired much of the time, very dry skin, sores that are slow to heal, more infections than usual. Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pains may accompany some of these symptoms in the abrupt onset of type 1 diabetes.

Glucose is sugar! So all I have to do is avoid sweets, right?

How do you treat diabetes?

There are several things you need to do to help control your diabetes. For type 1 diabetes, Healthy eating, physical activity, and insulin injections are the basic therapies. The amount of insulin taken must be balanced with food intake and daily activities. For patients with type 1 diabetes, blood glucose levels must be closely monitored through frequent blood glucose testing.

Glucophage

Type 2 Diabetes Is Marked By High Blood Sugar

More than 34 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . But one-fourth of those people dont know they have the condition.

Getting your annual physical, which typically involves testing your fasting blood sugar levels, is a great first-line screening for type 2 diabetes, no matter how healthy you think your blood sugar levels are, says Dawn Turner, RD, CDCES, a diabetes educator at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Illinois. If your physician finds your levels to be high, theyll evaluate your A1C, which is a two- to three-month average of your blood sugar levels. That said, based on your family history, age, and overall health, your doctor may go ahead and include an A1C test in your yearly workup.

To stay fully on top of your metabolic health, you need to listen to what your body is telling you. Because type 2 diabetes affects every cell in the body, the condition can cause a wide range of symptoms, says Fernando Ovalle, MD, the director of the multidisciplinary diabetes clinic at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. No two people with type 2 diabetes experience the condition in the exact same way, and the number of symptoms, as well as their severity, fluctuate from person to person. Dr. Ovalle notes that most symptoms of type 2 diabetes come on and progress gradually.

You May Like: Why Are Diabetic Supplies So Expensive

Frequent Urination Could Be Related To Diabetes

When there is excess glucose present in the blood, as with type 2 diabetes, the kidneys are not able to handle all of it and have to flush some out of the blood and into the urine, Ovalle says. This results in more urine production and increased urinary frequency and urgency, called polyuria. Some people may notice they have to get up every couple of hours during the night to urinate and that they produce more urine when they do go.

The presence of excess glucose can also cause the urine to have a sweet smell. This is most common in advanced cases of type 2 diabetes, he says.

What You Need To Know About Diabetes Salty Taste In Mouth Diabetes

One of the most common signs of diabetes is excessive thirst. You may also feel more hungry and pee more than usual. Its important to check your blood sugar as soon as you start to notice these symptoms. If your blood sugar drops below 70 mg/dL, you should immediately eat 15 grams of carbohydrates. Then, check it again fifteen minutes later. If you cant eat that much carbohydrate at once, you can try oral glucose.

Despite the many complications of type 1 diabetes, you can still find ways to manage it. By reading about diabetes, youll be better prepared to live a healthy and happy life. You can avoid diabetes by making healthy choices. In fact, there are many treatments available for type 1 diabetes. In some cases, a patient may even experience an improvement in their overall health after the transplant. In some cases, you can even reverse your diabetes through a simple procedure.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type. Most people with type 1 diabetes have type 2 diabetes. They both require insulin to regulate their blood sugar. If youre overweight, you may have type 2 diabetes. If youre concerned about diabetes, its important to learn about it. Your doctor can provide you with more information on your condition, including tips on how to cope with it. You should never be afraid to ask questions. Just remember, youll have to answer them. Youre not alone.

Read Also: Medical Management Of Diabetes Mellitus

What Is Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus is a rare condition that causes your body to make a lot of urine that is “insipid,” or colorless and odorless. Most people pee out 1 to 2 quarts a day. People with diabetes insipidus can pass between 3 and 20 quarts a day. The main types of diabetes insipidus include central, nephrogenic, and pregnancy-related.

Tips For Looking After Your Mouth And Teeth

One reason for taste changes is an infection inside your mouth. Tooth decay, gum infections, and thrush can cause a bad taste, as well as making it harder to eat.

Looking after your mouth and teeth can help with taste changes. It can also help you stay healthy by reducing your chance of infections, and enable you to eat a healthy diet.

Also Check: Type 2 Diabetes Can It Be Reversed

Foot Pain And Numbness Can Be Signs Of Diabetic Neuropathy

Over time, a prolonged exposure to high blood sugar level can damage the nerves throughout the body, called diabetic neuropathy. Some people may not have any symptoms of the damage, while others may notice numbness, tingling, or pain in the extremities.

Diabetic neuropathy usually starts in the feet and then it progresses upward, says Ovalle. Although most common in people who have had type 2 diabetes for 25 years or more, it can occur in people who have prediabetes as well. When it affects the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, its termed peripheral neuropathy.

Numbness in the feet can increase their risk of infection: If you don’t feel a cut or scrape on your foot, you might not notice or properly treat it, he says.

How Are Smell And Taste Disorders Diagnosed

Along with a complete medical history and physical exam, other test may include:

• Measuring the lowest strength of a chemical that a person can recognize

• Comparing tastes and smells of different chemicals

• “Scratch and sniff” tests

• “Sip, spit, and rinse” tests where chemicals are applied to specific areas of the tongue

Recommended Reading: Strict Diet For Diabetes Type 2

When Should You Go To The Doctor

Salt taste in the mouth is a discomfort that usually occurs as a result of simple reasons and usually goes away on its own in a short time .

Some patients complain of a salty taste in the mouth for a long time. You should go to a doctor and get medical help for your salty mouth complaint that has been going on for more than a few weeks .

In some patients, the symptoms increase day by day. If you have additional symptoms and your current complaints are increasing, you should apply to a health institution.

In addition to a salty taste in your mouth, you may have the following symptoms :

• dry mouth
• bleeding gums
• dental problems

Your doctor will listen to your current complaints and perform a series of examinations. You may need to have some tests done to identify the underlying cause . Then the treatment steps will be started.

Acid Reflux And A Bitter Salty Taste

Heartburn or acid reflux may make the taste in your mouth feel bitter and salty.

Acid reflux or heartburn is when stomach acid escapes back up your esophagus and can cause a strange taste in your mouth. Dr. Adam Husney on WebMD reports that the backflow of stomach juices may cause a bitter or sour taste in your mouth. Many people with heartburn describe the bitter taste in their mouth as being somewhat salty.6

A chronic form of heartburn is gastroesophageal disease . As well as causing a bitter salty taste in your mouth, GERD can cause a burning sensation in your chest, a persistent sore throat, or a feeling like you have something stuck in your throat.

If you have the symptoms of heartburn, you can try drinking baking soda and water. Baking soda helps to neutralize stomach acid and can quickly relieve the discomfort heartburn causes. You can find more home remedies for heartburn in my article about 12 effective natural treatments for heartburn and stomach ulcers.

Also Check: How Can Diabetes Affect Your Kidneys

How Is Salt Taste In The Mouth Treated

Many people experience a salty taste in their mouth at some point in their lives . You should know that this complaint usually occurs for simple and temporary reasons.

Salt taste in the mouth is treated according to the underlying cause. The underlying cause will be determined and then treatment steps will be applied for each cause.

The methods that can be applied for the treatment of salty taste in the mouth are:

Dental Problems Can Cause Salty Taste In Mouth

A salty taste in your mouth could also be caused by other kinds of dental problems.

Dr. Steven Roth from the American Academy of Cosmetic dentists says that a salty taste in your mouth may be the result of leaky crowns or fillings. It could even be that your toothpaste or mouth rinse is affecting your taste buds and making your mouth feel salty.5

If you think that dental issues are making everything taste salty to you, you should visit your dentist for a checkup.

Recommended Reading: Best Lunch For Type 2 Diabetes

Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak Causes Chronic Salty Taste In Mouth

A cerebrospinal fluid leak can cause severe headaches along with a persistent salty taste in the mouth.

A CSF leak happens when a tear or hole in the membrane around the brain or spinal cord lets fluid leak. Sometimes CSF leaks are caused by trauma to the head, but in many cases the cause is unknown.

According to doctors from Cedars-Sinai, the main symptom of a cerebrospinal fluid leak is a headache that gets worse when standing or sitting. The headache is usually at the base of the skull or can affect the whole head. However, it is also common that CSF leaks cause a salty or metallic taste in the mouth.10

Other warning signs of a CSF leak are increased sensitivity to light or sound, pain between the shoulder blades, drainage from the ear or nose, or ringing in the ears.

Medical Treatment To Relieve A Salty Taste In The Mouth

The medical treatment options depend on the cause of the salty taste.

• A diet low in salt and adequate hydration with caffeine-free drinks are helpful. Dehydration can become a serious problem. In addition to a salty taste, extreme thirst can be experienced along with dark urine or a complete stoppage of urination. The patient can become very confused, tired, and dizzy. Seizures, heat exhaustion, and kidney issues can occur.
• If simply drinking liquids does not improve the symptoms, hospitalization will be necessary. The hospital will administer intravenous fluids and electrolytes to restore fluid and mineral balance.
• Bleeding gums signal the beginnings of periodontal disease. A study found that a rinse of chlorhexidine gluconate effectively killed the bacteria in the mouth that are related to gum disease. In addition to killing bacteria, the rinse also reduced the intensity of a salty taste.
• If the salty taste is due to a medicine you are taking, your physician may be able to switch a medication to another effective one to alleviate the salty taste.
• Over-the-counter rinses, sprays, and lozenges are available to increase moisture in your mouth. These may be used to counteract a salty taste.
• Antihistamines may be used to counteract the postnasal drip from allergies.
• Antacids can be used for a salty taste in the mouth due to reflux.

You May Like: Healthy Breakfast Bars For Diabetics

> > > Discover The 1 Green Veggie That Worsens Diabetes Type 2 Symptoms

In summary, diabetic medications prescribed by your doctor are necessary to treat your condition however, you should also be aware that the long term potential nutritional side effects may be just as big a risk factor for your health as the disease you set out to treat in the first place. Put the odds in your favor and maintain your health with NutraMD Diabetes Essential Nutrients® supplement

How do I know I am keeping my blood sugar under control?Frequent blood tests are used to monitor your blood sugar. Most patients with diabetes should have a home blood monitoring kit. Some doctors ask their patients to check their blood sugar as frequently at 6 times a day, though this is an extreme. The more information you have about your blood sugar levels, the easier it will be for you to control it. People with diabetes must take responsibility for their day-to-day care, and keep blood glucose levels from going too low or too high. Salty Taste In Mouth Diabetes

When your blood sugar is too high, your doctor refers to it as hyperglycemia. When your blood sugar is too high, you may not experience any symptoms, but the high levels of glucose in your blood is causing damage to your blood vessels and organs. That is why it is important to have your body utilize the sugar properly and get it out of your bloodstream.

Damage to the retina from diabetes is a leading cause of blindness.

Damage to the kidneys from diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure.