Chlorhexidine makes my breath *much* worse!
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:50 pm
Hello all,
I discovered this forum late last night, and I must say that it is relieving to find an online family of people who share and support each other in their suffering.
I've had chronic bad breath as long as I remember. It is just your common, garden-variety, sulfurous "morning-breath" smell. It is perhaps milder than some cases here, but still quite severe. Therabreath actually does help me (for about fifteen minutes) and reduces morning breath if used at night.
Three weeks ago, I discovered chlorhexidine mouthwash by reading medical journal papers. I discovered that you can buy it in the U.S. by ordering through a British online pharmacy:
http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/search_r ... orhexidine
At first, I was amazed at its effect. No coating on my tongue. Absolutely eliminated saliva-on-wrist smell. Before, if I wiped the back of my tongue with a paper towel and let the matter dry, it would turn yellow and smell bad. Chlorhexidine completely eliminates this effect.
*However*
Over the past few weeks while using chlorhexidine, I've had a huge increase in negative social feedback about my breath. People at work have started giving very strong hints; they rub/cover their noses from twenty feet away; they lean back and turn on a desk fan when I speak to them. This is confusing, since my tongue is now completely pink and clean, and my saliva has totally lost its offensive smell (to me).
Clearly, the chlorhexidine killed off certain bacteria. But in doing so, I've disturbed some delicate balance in my mouth, allowing certain bad bacteria to really dominate. Now, I'm stopping the chlorhexidine and will try to return to the original not-quite-as-bad breath.
[Now, please do not infer from this that you will experience the same thing with chlorhexidine. Bad breath is an imbalance of oral bacteria, but the precise type of imbalance depends on the individual ecosystem in your mouth.]
Has anybody else experienced similar effects with chlorhexidine? Any advice on how to replenish the original bacteria? (I will try staying home for a day, use no anti-bacterial products, and eat yogurt.)
- Cort
I discovered this forum late last night, and I must say that it is relieving to find an online family of people who share and support each other in their suffering.
I've had chronic bad breath as long as I remember. It is just your common, garden-variety, sulfurous "morning-breath" smell. It is perhaps milder than some cases here, but still quite severe. Therabreath actually does help me (for about fifteen minutes) and reduces morning breath if used at night.
Three weeks ago, I discovered chlorhexidine mouthwash by reading medical journal papers. I discovered that you can buy it in the U.S. by ordering through a British online pharmacy:
http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/search_r ... orhexidine
At first, I was amazed at its effect. No coating on my tongue. Absolutely eliminated saliva-on-wrist smell. Before, if I wiped the back of my tongue with a paper towel and let the matter dry, it would turn yellow and smell bad. Chlorhexidine completely eliminates this effect.
*However*
Over the past few weeks while using chlorhexidine, I've had a huge increase in negative social feedback about my breath. People at work have started giving very strong hints; they rub/cover their noses from twenty feet away; they lean back and turn on a desk fan when I speak to them. This is confusing, since my tongue is now completely pink and clean, and my saliva has totally lost its offensive smell (to me).
Clearly, the chlorhexidine killed off certain bacteria. But in doing so, I've disturbed some delicate balance in my mouth, allowing certain bad bacteria to really dominate. Now, I'm stopping the chlorhexidine and will try to return to the original not-quite-as-bad breath.
[Now, please do not infer from this that you will experience the same thing with chlorhexidine. Bad breath is an imbalance of oral bacteria, but the precise type of imbalance depends on the individual ecosystem in your mouth.]
Has anybody else experienced similar effects with chlorhexidine? Any advice on how to replenish the original bacteria? (I will try staying home for a day, use no anti-bacterial products, and eat yogurt.)
- Cort