Dry Mouth and Dry Lips page

[Risto]

I've suffered from dry mouth and lips for a long time. When I speak for more than a minute without stopping, my mouth becomes so dry that I desperately need some water. My lips are very dry too, they get especially dry when I spend time outside.

It has becoming very annoying to speak if my mouth gets dry so quickly. I bet everyone's mouth gets dry after speaking for a long time, but not in one single minute.

What could be the reason for this? What could help me improve this?

[Digby]

As someone who gave daily lectures in my profession I always had water at hand. Do you drink at least a litre of fluid a day? If not increase your fluids, especially water. Get plenty of fats in your diet. My spouse noticed his skin improving significantly by getting a couple tablespoons of coconut oil/butter daily. Dry is absence of wet; so unless you have some rare condition, then most likely you need more liquid. I take in closer to 2 litres of liquids, mostly tea, but all liquids count. Also, after you bathe, make sure to put oil on your skin/lips to retain moisture. Vitamin E oil is very good for the lips, but you have to reapply several times during the day. Here I get it in a little roll-on bottle. Hope this helps.

[belinda]

What Digby said. If this doesn't work, however, get checked out by a doctor to see if you have a salivary gland issue.

[Risto]

As someone who gave daily lectures in my profession I always had water at hand. Do you drink at least a litre of fluid a day? If not increase your fluids, especially water. Get plenty of fats in your diet. My spouse noticed his skin improving significantly by getting a couple tablespoons of coconut oil/butter daily. Dry is absence of wet; so unless you have some rare condition, then most likely you need more liquid. I take in closer to 2 litres of liquids, mostly tea, but all liquids count. Also, after you bathe, make sure to put oil on your skin/lips to retain moisture. Vitamin E oil is very good for the lips, but you have to reapply several times during the day. Here I get it in a little roll-on bottle. Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for the help!

Drinking enough water must not be a problem, because I generally drink about 2-5 liters of water plus over 10 servings of fruits and veggies each day.

I also don't think that fat is an issue, my fat content is generally around 40% or so. Mostly from fish, raw milk, and pork.

I don't really like using these ultra artificial lotions, so would olive oil be good to put on my lips and elbows?

Another note: Is it possible that I've somehow irritated my tongue due to eating very hot food and that could cause dry tongue? I'm often too impatient to wait until my meal gets cooler, so I've burned my mouth on numerous occasions. If I speak a lot, I can also notice a sort of whitish layer on my tongue.

[gordo]

Are you VLC? Sugar is required for mucous manufacture. One of the common side effects of a VLC diet is dry eyes, mouth, and digestive tract.

Getting nervous can also cause the problem. Are you by chance speaking publicly?

Gordo

[PumpkinHead]

I agree with everything that's been said, but you may also want to look in to food allergies/sensitivities.

I had a coworker who had awful peeling lips & dry mouth all the time... her doctor always told her to drink more water. Turns out she was either allergic or sensitive to tomatoes, and once she ditched them her dry lips/mouth totally went away.

It's probably easier to try to increase water intake or fat intake before starting to eliminate food groups (or get tested), but if those don't help it's worth looking into!

[Risto]

Are you VLC? Sugar is required for mucous manufacture. One of the common side effects of a VLC diet is dry eyes, mouth, and digestive tract.

Getting nervous can also cause the problem. Are you by chance speaking publicly?

Gordo

VLC = very low carbs, right? I eat plenty of carbs, because I'm very active. I get around 300-350g of carbohydrates from vegetables, fruits, raw milk, and some potatoes.

It's not a short-term thing, I've been having this issue for a pretty long time. Nervousness may be one of the factors in this, I do tend to get nervous because of my overly perfectionist attitude, especially when it comes to gaining knowledge.

[Risto]

I agree with everything that's been said, but you may also want to look in to food allergies/sensitivities.

I had a coworker who had awful peeling lips & dry mouth all the time... her doctor always told her to drink more water. Turns out she was either allergic or sensitive to tomatoes, and once she ditched them her dry lips/mouth totally went away.

It's probably easier to try to increase water intake or fat intake before starting to eliminate food groups (or get tested), but if those don't help it's worth looking into!

I'm probably going to go on an elimination diet some time in the future to learn more about my body. Thanks for the tip!