Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

Hey what's up everyone
I've been looking around for a bit, and finally decided to register. I just want to know what you guys think. I'm not sure if I physically have bad breath or not, and that is what kills me. As a kid growing up, I never really thought about it too much. However, there were 3 specific times that I can remember that "traumatized" me I guess. Since then, I educated myself as best as possible. I realized that I had PND/severe allergies, but also that taking antihistimines might make my oral environment more susceptible to BB. I no longer take allergy medications, and since I have moved to california for school, my PND is almost non existant (kick ass weather =) ). I feel like in many ways, I have taken care of the physical aspect (make sure to brush my tongue, etc.), but that the psychological one (ie afraid to speak up, especially after eating, afraid of close ups, etc) still remains. I have asked a few of my closest friends, girls and guys, and they said that they have never smelled anything. I feel like i can trust them. I know the word halitophobia is thrown around a lot, and I don't want to offend. Fear of bad breath is as a real fear to me as many of you. However, in my case, am I one of the fortunate few? Should i just consider this an exaggeration of self-consciousness? I hate how I let the fear control certain aspects of my life, and I feel like i'm wasting the years, when freedom could be so close. What do you guys think?

Oh also, I have used dr. kats tooth paste on my tongue for a while. I know that he is bashed on here, and that many say it just does not work. However, for me, I feel like it helps sometimes. Like if i use regular toothpaste for a week, the back of my tongue gets a slightly white coating, but once i brush my tongue with therabreath, that coating completely goes away, and my tongue is a nice shade of pink. Not trying to say if it works or not, but thats just my experience with it.

collegekid7 wrote:Hey what's up everyone
What do you guys think?

Welcome to the site, well you have to look at peoples reaction to you. Do they rub thier nose when you speak? do they step back from you? do you get offered gum?

they are the few of many signs that you have BB.

Ah, yeah I always try to look for those signs. I don't get constantly offered gum, and I do recognize that people rub there noses occasionally, but it is not an all the time thing. I'm the one who usually take a step back, I guess i'm just too afraid to man up to my fear and test peoples reactions for real. Also, I had this one friend, who I saw touched his nose when I talked to him. But then I saw him talking to several other people, and he still touched his nose. Not trying to debunk this "sign," but for a small minority of the people, it might just be a habit.

If you don't think you have it, you probably don't. Most of us here KNOW we have it, from reactions and just sensation. Some people smell their own breath at times, some people taste it, but when you have real BB you just know it without a doubt.