Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

Ive been visiting this site for around 20 years, that's how long I've suffered from bad breath. Only recently made an account. I had bad breath from my mouth only, not nasal BB. It wasn't room filling but I'd say you could smell it from 1 or 2 metres away. I've tried sooo many products and spent a fortune on them over the years.

I've finally cured myself, although seriously kicking myself at the simple solution.
I used regular saline solution from the pharmacy and did nasal rinses for 3 times a day for 2 weeks. At first, I didn't notice too much difference, but slowly slowly it's completely cured my bad breath.

I'm kicking myself because I've tried so many times making my own nasal rinses, using oils, salt, baking soda etc. I often would make them too strong and then it would really hurt so I'd wait a day, few days, weeks and then go back to it again. So basically I was really inconsistent with it and I didn't really believe it would cure me as I didn't feel like I had post nasal drip or anything like that. But turns out I was totally wrong. I was on antibiotics when I was 18 months for half a year and I believed that was the cause of it all. It 'hit' me when I was 17.

It's been nearly 1 month and it's pretty unbelievable how much my life has changed. I can now eat anything, drink coffee etc and I don't have a horrible taste in my mouth and I'm getting 0 reactions when I talk. I'm a primary teacher so I know 100% I'm cured as I'm getting 0 reactions from my students now, whereas before, they would make it very obvious. I can also feel in my mouth that my breath is neutral.

The 1 thing that always gave me 100% relief for 2/3 hours was smoking weed. So if that helps you, then you must try just regular saline solution and try it for at least 2 weeks, even if you don't feel like you have post nasal drip.
Coconut oil pulling gave me some relief and also sucking on zinc tablets but I was inconsistent with that too because it would often give me bad headaches. Eating carrots helped somewhat as well. Hydrogen peroxide was hit and miss, sometimes it would work well for a few hours, other times, not at all. Ultradex toothpaste and mouth rinse were the best out of all the products and they also whitened my teeth. I guess all these things were hitting the back of my throat and covering the mucus for a short time.

My life has been ruined by this horrible curse, of course I'm super happy that I've found my cure and always dreamed of the day that I would be able to write an 'Im cured' post on this website! But I still have to deal with the reality of how many friends I've lost, the awful and embarrassing moments in my life, the looks of disgust that I would get. But now I need to focus on rebuilding myself and trying to improve my mental health.

I just want to thank each and everyone of you for posting possible cures and sharing your experiences as they've really helped me along the way and just knowing I'm not alone with this. Thank you to Jimi who runs this site.
I wish all of you so much luck with finding your cure. I so wish I could wave a magic wand and help all of you to be cured.
Good luck friends xxx

And just to note, when I tip my head to the side and the solution is going through the other nostril, I breathe a little so I feel the solution going down my throat.

I've never had a white tongue. Its always been 'normal' looking.

Super green smoothies would help for maybe an hour or so.

I tried metronidazole antibiotic twice and both times it cured me 100% for just 1 week, then completely stopped.

Oral probiotics, I tried many brands, they would work for 1-3 days but then completely stop.

Congrats, i'll give this ago, even though it probably won't work for me:)... did your breath smell when you were not talking?

Wowww…Congratulations !!!!

Thank you for sharing.

Yes nasal rinses help me but I am pretty inconsistent with it. Will try to do it 3 times a day as mentioned by you.

One question though…do you still do it 3 times a day or was it just for the first two weeks ?

I recently changed my diet to a clean one …no dairy, no gluten, low carbs and low sugar as I have suffered from digestive issues ever since I remember. The change in diet helps me with more energy and focus but no change in BB SO FAR. It’s been almost 10 days ( last 3 days I was entirely on raw diet just to speed up the detox). Will do the nasal rinses and hopefully that would be the last piece of the puzzle.

the_winter_soldier wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:40 am Congrats, i'll give this ago, even though it probably won't work for me:)... did your breath smell when you were not talking?

Thank you very much.
No it didn't smell when my mouth was closed. Only when talking and now I think about it, I think it was worse when I shouted based on reactions from students.
Good luck.

Grateful wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 7:32 am Wowww…Congratulations !!!!

Thank you for sharing.

Yes nasal rinses help me but I am pretty inconsistent with it. Will try to do it 3 times a day as mentioned by you.

One question though…do you still do it 3 times a day or was it just for the first two weeks ?

I recently changed my diet to a clean one …no dairy, no gluten, low carbs and low sugar as I have suffered from digestive issues ever since I remember. The change in diet helps me with more energy and focus but no change in BB SO FAR. It’s been almost 10 days ( last 3 days I was entirely on raw diet just to speed up the detox). Will do the nasal rinses and hopefully that would be the last piece of the puzzle.

Thank you very much.
I've been doing it once a day in the mornings now. I'm a bit scared to stop, but last weekend, I didn't do it for the Saturday and my breath was still clear on Sunday. I think I've knocked out a load of build up of mucous so I think I could stop. I will do soon.
I really hope this is your last piece of the puzzle.
Good luck to you

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I am a yoga instructor (online don’t have the guts to go offline) and Jal Neti ( saline nasal rinse) is one of the six cleansing processes mentioned in our old texts. This kriya or the cleansing process can be done daily so I would suggest you to continue doing it at least once a day as is your routine right now. This can be clubbed with your daily cleansing rituals.

I usually make saline water at home. You mentioned store bought here. How different is it from the home made one. Pls share pics if possible. Also what apparatus do you use for the process…neti pot ?

Ahh ok that's interesting. I will continue with it then. I actually really like doing it now every morning. I feel it clears me out and I feel really fresh after. It doesn't take long at all. 2 mins in the morning and it's done. It's also cheap to buy. I can't work out how to post a pic but the brand is Klean&Kare. If you Google it, it will come up. I think it's just standard saline solution you can get anywhere. Even under a different brand name.
It's different because I always messed up the nasal rinses id make. Too much of something or not enough. I tried baking soda, numerous essential oils, baby shampoo and salt which I always did too much of and then it hurt so I'd stop. Really kicking myself that I didn't try the store bought 1 sooner. The saline solution is really easy to do, it's cheap and doesn't in anyway sting, I can't feel the salt. That's why I kept doing it for 2 weeks, 3 times a day because it was easy to do. Should have just done that in the first place! When I made my own rinses, I used a neti pot but now I just use the bottle that I buy. Just pour it in. Couldn't be any easier.
I really hope it can work for you too

Oh great…this sounds easy…will get the bottle one then. Thank you

Thank you,I will try to do this.
You are saying,that you had no nasal BB,so do you think,that bad bacteria were coming down through your nasal cavity to your mouth and tongue? Did gargling with chlorhexidine help you before?

Yes it did but only for a few days and then it was back to normal bb. The mucous was definitely coming down the back of my throat and sitting there. So with the saline solution, I knocked it all out and cleared out my sinuses.

Hi, at what point did you start noticing any difference? It’s been 4 days into my 3 times nasal wash routine but am getting reactions. Sorry getting a little impatient here . Am gonna complete 2 weeks no matter what but just wanted to know your timeline.

Update- I have terrible bad breath again. It slowly came back little by little every day. I got just over 1 month of completely fresh breath and a normal life. Beyond devastated is an understatement.
I'm so sorry to get people's hopes up. I really believed I had finally ended it, it really felt like I had cured it. Easily the longest relief I've ever had. Now I'm back to having people step and walk away from me, rubbing their noses and looking at me in disgust.
I now know it's not coming from my mouth but from the back of my throat or possibly stomach. I'm going to the hospital this weekend to do some tests. I've already tested for h pylori and that was negative.
But I don't understand how saline solution could cure me for a whole month if it's mucous in my throat. That's a long time with just salt water

Am so sorry to hear about this. But don’t lose hope. If you have been cured once, you can do it again. Just keep trying. It could be the stomach coz on some days my floss and toothbrush doesn’t smell at all yet people cover their nose and step back when I talk. So it’s probably something from the stomach or the air we exhale. Let’s not stop looking for the cure. It’s been almost a full time job now for me to look for the cure. Good luck to all of us.

Have you tried a diet change in conjunction with the nasal flushes this may be a more permanent cure but try at least 3 months