Suffer From Bad Breath. Had Measles. Affected With Sense Of Smell And Hearing. Help?

Posted on Mon, 19 Aug 2013

Question: Hi! I have been suffering from bad breath 24/7 for sometime and it's affecting everything I do. It started about 3 months after I had measles back when I was 14 and I'm never the same since. It's also affected my sense of hearing and smell but none of which is as concerning as my bad breath. I have seen Dentist's, ENT's, GP's and used all sorts of products but they all weren't able to help me with it. I've done a lot of googleing and realised that I could have one or more of the following - Heart, lung, kidney, liver problem or that it could be coming from my sinuses or that the 'environment/mouth' changed so much after getting sick or after taking anti-biotics that no matter how much I clean my mouth, it's just not conducive to 'healing'. I need help about this but I realised that not many doctors can solve this. Will you please help me. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (4 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The symptoms that you are having are long standing and you have probed many possibilities already. A very common cause is deficiency of zinc and vit B3. Try taking some multivitamin-multimineral supplements for some days and see if the bad breath persists.
You also need to increase your fluid intake and avoid constipation at all costs.
If the symptoms persist then other possibilities have to be probed. These include poor oral hygiene,fungal infections on the tongue or in the mouth area,endocrine disorders like diabetes,hypothyroidism, acid reflux and anxiety attacks.

Try having citrus juices, lemonade and foods marinated in vinegar. They help in saliva production that helps in washing away the bad odour. Every time you brush your teeth, make sure to brush your tongue also. You can also use a tongue cleaner regularly.

If the symptoms persist then consult a physician and get your blood sugar levels and thyroid hormone levels done. Also get a dental check up done.

Hope this answers your query. I will be glad to answer the follow up queries that you have.
Please accept my answer in case you do not have further queries.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Rakhi Tayal.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (7 hours later)

Thank you for your reply! There is no food or amount cleaning that would make it go away. I can lessen the intensity through tongue cleaning but it only lasts for about five minutes or so. There's a white coating on my tongue that gets really thick a few hours after brushing or right after eating anything. I've never been successful in completely getting rid of it no matter how I clean my tongue. In 15y I've only had a couple of times that I didn't have it no matter the food I eat. 1st was when I had my tonsils removed and one more time that I had to have a full course of anti biotic. It reacts to anti biotic. The ENT that use to go to and I tried to replicate this but weren't successful. The thing with having a heart, liver, blood sugar level, lung problem is that they don't add up to my fitness level. I'm very healthy. I eat anything in excess, drink anything in excess or not eat anything and play video games until my heart, eyes and pulls would just completely shut down and when I wake up I'm fine. I don't feel weak or hungry or anything that would indicate that I should not do it again. I think the problem lies in my mouth area. It's affected my sense of smell, sense of hearing (maybe clogged eustacian tube) and white coating on the back part of my tongue.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (14 hours later)

Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
Since the white coating is also present on the tongue, a persistent oral fungal infection can be the cause. It is best to consult your dentist for specific treatment and an appropriate mouth wash to keep the infection from coming back.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar