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This phenomenon is often observed in people over 40 years of age. Especially bitterness in the mouth is felt in the morning. There are many reasons for its appearance. In the case when the bitter taste in the mouth does not go away for a long time, you should be wary and consult a doctor. Very often, this symptom can indicate serious health problems.
Causes of bitterness in the mouth in adults
The list of reasons that lead to the appearance of bitterness in the mouth is very extensive.
Poor quality food. Poorly cooked, burnt food can lead to a feeling of bitterness in the mouth. If you drink water, the feeling will become less, but the unpleasant aftertaste will persist for up to 30 – 40 minutes.
Often a bitter taste appears if you eat stale nuts or seeds – the fatty acids that are in their composition break down and form bitter chemical compounds.
If it’s food, the symptom is not accompanied by pain or gastrointestinal upset.
Age changes. With age, the mucous membrane in the mouth gradually atrophies, it becomes more difficult for the elderly to distinguish between different tastes. As a result, while eating, the bitter taste is most clearly expressed, and the remaining flavor shades are practically not determined. Moreover, this does not depend on what exactly the elderly person eats, and is associated with reduced saliva production and the reproduction of pathogenic microflora.
Smoking. Tar and nicotine, which are part of tobacco, can linger on the oral mucosa and cause a bitter taste. If a metallic taste is added to this, an urgent need to go to the doctor.
Pregnancy. The periodic appearance of bitterness in the mouth in women in an interesting position can be caused by natural causes – under the influence of hormonal changes, the movement of bile acids is disrupted. In the first trimester of pregnancy, a bitter taste also occurs due to severe toxicosis, bouts of vomiting lead to its intensification.
If bitterness appears after the 32nd week, it may be a symptom of a serious pathology – cholestasis (bile stagnation) of pregnant women. In this state, in addition to an irritating bitter taste, severe itching of the skin develops, the feces become light, and the urine, on the contrary, darkens, yellowness of the skin and sclera may appear. If such manifestations occur, you should immediately seek medical help.
Functional dyspepsia. Violation of food digestion, weakening of intestinal motility – a disorder of the usually well-coordinated digestive organs can occasionally happen in almost every person. In such cases, an unpleasant aftertaste occurs immediately after, along with it, heaviness in the abdomen, flatulence are noted.
Hepatitis. Liver disease can have different causes, but it always manifests itself in approximately the same way – bitterness in the mouth, pain and heaviness in the right hypochondrium, nausea, vomiting with an admixture of bile.
Dysfunction of the biliary system. Pathological changes in the biliary tract lead to disorders in the production and timely flow of bile into the duodenum. At the initial stages of the disease, a bitter taste in the mouth appears only with an excessive increase in fatty and fried foods, alcohol. In parallel, the patient experiences nausea, dull pain under the ribs on the right side, stool becomes more frequent.
In severe forms of the disease, severe inflammation, the taste of bitterness becomes permanent. Unbearable itching may appear, the feces become white or grayish.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Many of them are manifested by this unpleasant symptom. In chronic gastritis and duodenitis, the patient feels bitterness in the mouth due to a violation of the diet, nervous tension.
Pancreatitis and other diseases of the pancreas are also characterized by a bitter taste, an unpleasant (rotten) smell from the mouth. With an exacerbation of the disease, the patient begins to feel sick, vomiting may occur with an admixture of food debris and bile, a grayish or yellow coating appears on the tongue.
dental problems. Purulent stomatitis, sores in the oral cavity caused by bacterial flora, as well as deep caries can lead to bitterness in the mouth.
The cause of a bitter taste in the mouth can also be medical procedures – for example, placing a filling from a low-quality material that begins to break down under the influence of saliva enzymes. In addition, patients complain of bitterness in the mouth in the first days after dentures – this is a reaction to a foreign body in the mouth. If the unpleasant sensation persists and, in addition, a toothache develops, you should consult a doctor.
neurological factors. In cases where the taste nuclei in the brain are damaged, patients report a bitter taste in the mouth for no apparent reason. To make it disappear, it is enough to brush your teeth. With such violations, a perverted perception of taste is characteristic: sweet seems sour or salty and vice versa. Bitterness can be the result of strokes, traumatic brain injuries.
Pharmacotherapy. Often, bitterness in the mouth appears while taking antibiotics. Also, its occurrence can be provoked by chemotherapy drugs, antihistamines, cholekinetics.
Symptoms of bitterness in the mouth in adults
As we have established, taste disorders can be a manifestation of a large number of diseases and conditions. At the same time, unpleasant taste sensations can be accompanied by a whole range of other symptoms:
- general weakness and lethargy;
- gray or white coating on the tongue;
- pain in the hypochondrium on the right or iliac region;
- feeling of bad breath, belching with air, food eaten;
- heaviness in the side;
- yellowness of the skin and sclera;
- hair loss;
- development of metabolism;
- stool disorder – diarrhea or constipation.
When the cause of bitterness in the mouth is gallstones, then under the ribs on the right side it can hurt a lot due to the movement of the elements.
Treatment of bitterness in the mouth in adults
We repeat, bitterness in the mouth does not occur on its own – this is a signal that a pathological process is most likely developing in your body. So, you need to visit a doctor, be examined, identify the true cause of the appearance of an unpleasant aftertaste, on which the treatment tactics will depend.
Diagnostics
Any doctor will first draw up a clinical picture according to the patient’s words – listen to complaints, clarify eating habits. Most likely, the examination will not do without special instrumental and laboratory tests. Here are the most informative ones:
- Sonography. This method of ultrasound diagnostics allows you to examine the state of the digestive system, identify inflammation, neoplasms.
- duodenal sounding. Used to detect disorders of the biliary system. The specialist takes five samples of bile to assess how much and how fast it enters the intestine, both independently and with the help of stimulation with pharmaceuticals. Then bacteriological testing is done.
- Endoscopy. During the study, they look to see if the mucous membranes are damaged, if there are inflamed or atrophied areas, and a biopsy is performed.
- Analysis of feces. It is mandatory because most diseases that are accompanied by a bitter taste in the mouth lead to specific changes in the stool.
- Laboratory diagnostics. It includes a whole range of necessary studies – from a general and biochemical blood test to the identification of markers of suspected diseases (in the case when there is a suspicion of viral hepatitis).
- Additional methods. A dental examination is ordered to detect caries or other oral diseases.
Modern treatments
As a rule, the patient is prescribed complex therapy, including one involving a special diet. Medical treatment usually includes:
- choleretic drugs – to improve the outflow of bile;
- antispasmodics – to relax the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, relieve pain;
- enzymatic agents – to stimulate the digestive organs. If hepatitis and infectious lesions of the liver are diagnosed, hepatoprotectors are additionally used;
- antihelminthic drugs – for the treatment of helminthiases (opisthorchiasis, echinococcosis), which affect the biliary tract and liver. To get rid of Giardia, specific antiparasitic therapy is used;
- antiviral drugs – to combat hepatitis of a viral nature.
In some cases, surgical treatment may be required. Lithotripsy helps to cope with cholelithiasis – crushing of formations and their removal from the body. With serious pathological changes in the gallbladder, surgery may be required to remove it.
Prevention of bitterness in the mouth in adults at home
There is nothing complicated in the prevention of this unpleasant phenomenon. You just have to follow some rules.
Pay attention to your diet. Eliminate foods that increase the formation of bile.
Say goodbye to bad habits. Almost all heavy smokers live with bitterness in the mouth, which will immediately disappear if you give up nicotine. Minimize alcohol consumption – in large doses, it leads to liver problems.
A balanced diet, a sparing lifestyle without bad habits will help to avoid many health problems – and discomfort will never appear.
Popular questions and answers
Answered questions about bitterness in the mouth Gastroenterologist Marat Zinnatullin.