People in the AbScent groups frequently report problems with dry mouth or burning mouth sensations. As Chrissi says, “Mouth issues are a bit out of my area, but I have them myself and I recognise they contribute to all of the annoyance and misery that is happening above the neckline.”

So we were interested to hear that a group of researchers in Venezuela have been recording the symptoms of some of their patients hospitalised with Covid-19.

They found that 40 percent of the 55 patients they examined had some sort of mouth problem. This is really similar to self-reported symptoms in a quick poll we ran in the Covid-19 Facebook group December 2020: 41 percent of those who responded reported dry mouth problems. 

Other symptoms from our group included dry mouth, white coating on the tongue, and soreness or sensitivity around the tongue and lips. 

The researchers in Venezuela noted, “It remains unclear whether [these symptoms] are a consequence of COVID-19 treatments, immune alterations caused by the virus, or other factors, such as the high levels of stress associated with infection.”

They noted that some of the mouth problems were quite common in the general population and it was difficult to link when the problems started with the virus itself.

At first sight, the report from Venezuela seems inconclusive. And their report is waiting to be peer reviewed before it can be published and accepted by the medical community. But all areas of research have to start somewhere, and simply reporting that the problem exists is a first step. 

When asked, Chrissi admits, “Where do we go next with this? I don’t know, but you can see things are starting to shift in this field.”

You can read the pre-print proof online here.

Looking for practical tips to manage this horrible condition? Follow the Dry Mouth topic in the AbScent Network to learn more about how others are coping with this.
 

December 10, 2021