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Do not ignore that sour taste in your mouth

Once in a while, we all experience that feeling of a bitter and sour taste in the mouth. This can happen because of the food or beverages that we have consumed in the last couple of hours.

However, if a sour taste or bitter taste in your mouth is occurring frequently, it should not be ignored, as that’s indicative of a larger health issue.

The human digestive system is a complex one and is easily affected by changes occurring in one or more systems or organs of the body. This means, there are various reasons for that sour or bitter taste in your mouth. Each one of those reasons has its own method for diagnosing and treating it. These can be divided into four major reasons.

Reasons for Sour or Bitter Taste in your Mouth.

#1 – GERD – Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease

Food passes from the mouth to a narrow tube called the esophagus and from there to the stomach where the process of digestion begins. There is a small valve at the beginning of the stomach which ensures food does not go back into the esophagus from the stomach. The valve is called the lower esophageal sphincter or LES. In people who are suffering from gastro-esophageal reflux disease or GERD, the LES opens abnormally allowing food to enter the esophagus from the stomach.

GERD causes various symptoms such as:

Heartburn

Chest pain

Sour or bitter taste

Bad breath

Burning sensation in the throat

Difficulty in swallowing

A lump like feeling in the throat

Coughing

Hoarse voice

Chest pain

Heavy eating

Acidic food

Fatty food

Regular consumption of caffeine

Alcohol abuse

Regular smoking

Pregnancy

Obesity

#2 – Medications

Medications being taken for other ailments can leave residual medicine in the mouth, or affect the taste receptors in the brain or tongue. These can cause a sour taste in the mouth. The Canadian Family Physician, a popular medical journal, had published an article which states that there are over 250 different drugs that can cause a sour taste in the mouth. These can be classified as:

Antibiotics: These are the most common culprit. Examples include sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, trimethoprim, ampicillin, metronidazole, etc.

Drugs that are given as part of chemotherapy such as etoposide, cyclophosphamide, and cisplatin.

Drugs are given for neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, migraine, etc. and some muscle relaxants

Drugs are given for cardiovascular conditions such as high BP, irregular heartbeat, diuretics, statins, etc

Prescription and over-the-counter drugs such as antihistamines, bronchodilators and those for inflammation, smoking de-addiction, fungal and viral infections

Drugs are given for psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, as well as mood stabilizers and hypnotics.

#3 – Zinc Deficiency

Zinc is one of those minerals that the body needs in small quantities for good health. These come from the food we consume such as:

Red meat

Shellfish

Dairy

Nuts

Beans

Oysters

Legumes

Certain vegetables

Zinc deficiency can occur due to the following reasons:

If the person is not getting enough zinc from the diet.

The zinc is not being absorbed properly by the intestines.

The person is on medications that interfere with zinc absorption.

Medications that inhibit zinc absorption include:

thiazide diuretics

captopril (an ACE inhibitor)

penicillamine

These drugs are used to treat a wide range of ailments such as cancer, diabetes, liver disease, celiac disease, chronic kidney disease, pancreatitis, sickle-cell disease, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.

One of the symptoms of zinc deficiency is a sour taste in the mouth.

#4 – Other Causes

There are innumerable other conditions or causes for the sour and bitter taste in the mouth, some of them being:

Smokingor chewing tobacco can affect the taste buds over time and make the food less tasty

Some people suffer from decreased saliva production which creates wrong perceptions of taste. Also called Xerostomia or dry mouth syndrome

Xerostomia can be caused by dehydration, which makes dehydration also a cause for sour taste in the mouth.

Anxiety and stress can trigger the dry mouth syndrome

Various infections or illnesses cause inflammation which can heighten the sense of sour or bitter taste, or create wrong perceptions of taste

Fungal infections in the mouth such as oral candidiasis

Similarly, not brushing regularly or maintaining poor dental hygiene can create a sour or bitter taste in the mouth

In women, pregnancy and menopause are known to trigger a sour taste in the mouth., due to hormonal changes

Menopause, which, like pregnancy, may cause a sour taste in the mouth. due to changes in hormone levels

Injuries or surgery of the brain can affect the region that controls the perception of taste and create wrong perceptions of taste

Neurologic disorders such as dementia, Bell’s palsy, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis as well as tumors in the brain

Radiation therapy given for treating cancers of the head and neck can damage salivary tissues and cause a sour taste in the mouth.

Lead poisoning comes from water or air excessively contaminated with lead

Syndromes that are not fully understood such as pine nut syndrome or burning mouth syndrome

Seek Expert Help

As you can infer from the above, recurring incidents of a sour taste in the mouth is not a simple condition that can be relieved by home remedies or antacids. Consult a gastroenterologist in a reputed hospital for the same. He/she will diagnose the underlying condition carefully and then prescribe the right course of treatment for the best results.

(04/11/2022)
by Kaukery Hospital

More Information: https://kauveryhospital.com/blog/gastroenterology/do-not-ignore-that-sour-taste-in-your-mouth/

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