If you wake up frequently and find embarrassingly wet areas on your pillow, you may need to change some of your sleeping habits. For some people, sleeping on their back can stop this problem. For others, more serious treatment may be needed. Try some of the suggestions below and see a doctor if you still can't stop drooling.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Adjusting Your Sleep Habits
Step 1. Sleep on your back
Sleeping on your side will make it easier for saliva to come out because of the different points of gravity. This point causes your mouth to open so that drool can wet your pillow. Try sleeping on your back and keep the position so that you don't change position at night.
Step 2. Pinch your head
If you can't sleep without lying on your side, prop your head in a more vertical position to help keep your mouth closed and provide better air circulation.
Step 3. Breathe in through your nose, not your mouth
The main reason people drool is because their airways are blocked. This results in them having to breathe through their mouths and salivating easily.
- Use sinus clearing products like Vick's Vaporub and Tiger Balm right under your nose to clear a stuffy nose.
- Inhale therapeutic oils such as Eucalyptus and Rose oils before you go to sleep. This will be useful for clearing your sinus passages and help sleep quality.
- Take a hot shower before you go to sleep. Let the steam clear your sinus passages.
Step 4. Treat sinus infections and allergies as soon as symptoms appear
Otherwise, the fluid in your nose can trigger drooling while you sleep.
Step 5. See if the medications you are currently taking can produce excessive amounts of saliva
Saliva that is too much can be a symptom of the use of certain drugs. Read your medication warning labels and ask your doctor about possible side effects.
Method 2 of 2: Diagnosing and Correcting Sleep Disorders
Step 1. Find out if you have a sleep disorder
If you have trouble sleeping, have difficulty breathing, snore, or drool, then you have it. This type of sleep disorder is called apnea and causes your breathing to become short and rapid while you sleep.
- Certain conditions can affect apnea. If you smoke, have high blood pressure, are at risk for heart failure or stroke, you are more likely to have apnea.
- Your doctor can help determine if you have apnea. He or she will run several tests and study your sleep history.
Step 2. Find out if your airway is easily blocked
Visit an ENT doctor and consult with him or her to see if a blocked airway can affect your ability to breathe through your nose during sleep.
Step 3. Lose weight
If you are overweight, your chances of experiencing apnea are greater. More than half of the population in the United States (total population = about 12 million) who have apnea disorders are those who are also overweight. Adjust your diet and exercise regularly to achieve a healthy weight and reduce the folds of fat around your neck. This is important to produce an easier breathing process.
Step 4. Treat apnea conservatively
Do this as an additional step of the weight loss method. Avoid alcohol, sleeping pills, and lack of sleep. Sinus sprays and saline rinses can also help clear your airways.
Step 5. Follow therapy for apnea
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the basic treatment for apnea sufferers. CPAP requires the patient to wear a special mask that supplies air through the nostrils and mouth while the patient sleeps. This is done to ensure that there is the right air pressure to prevent the upper respiratory tissue from becoming clogged while a person is asleep.
Step 6. Use a mandibular wedge
This device prevents the tongue from blocking the airway and advances the lower jaw to increase the air opening when you breathe.
Step 7. Consider surgery
A person who has a tissue system that has abnormalities such as a crooked septum, large tonsils, or an excessively sized tongue are those who need surgery.
- somnoplasty uses radio frequencies to tighten the palate at the back of the throat and widen the opening for the respiratory system.
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, or the UPPP/UP3 can remove certain soft tissues at the back of the throat to clear the airways.
- Nose surgery consists of several procedures to correct certain forms of malformation, such as a crooked septum.
- Tonsillectomy It works by removing tonsils that are too large and block your airway.
- Mandibular surgery will move the jawbone to create additional space in your throat. This procedure is a bit intense and is only done for people with acute apnea.
Tips
- Don't sleep with your mouth open to "dry" the saliva. This will only give you a sore throat, especially if your room is cold.
- To help you sleep on your back, buy a good quality mattress and pillows that support your head and neck well.
- Use a lavender-scented eye mask while sleeping on your back.
