Causes Of Bad Breath

The first question to ask yourself if you notice you have bad breath is what causes bad breath? Particularly what is causing your bad breath? Your breath smells because of the production of volatile sulphur compounds from bacteria that live in your mouth.

This bacteria is anaerobic and uses any food trapped in your teeth or gums to survive. To avoid bad breath you need to make sure you don't have any food in your teeth and you need to try to reduce the amount of bacteria in your mouth.

Every person has these type of bacteria in his or her mouth. Unfortunately, you cannot get rid of these bad breath-causing bacteria because they serve an important function in the human body. They break down proteins found in food which aids in the digestive process. However, situations occur where the bacteria break down the proteins too quickly which will result in the release of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). These compounds can leave a nasty taste in your mouth and give you smelly breath.

Morning mouth is caused because during the night, saliva in your mouth diminishes. As that happens, dead cells inside your mouth will stick on your tongue. In turn, bacteria will eat those dead cells and then expel compounds with an awful odor (disgusting, isnt it?). Thats pretty much the whole story behind the morning mouth bad breath.

From a medical point of view, several diseases can cause bad breath. Sinus is one of them. The affected part in the cheeks often is infected with sinus pus which will produce a strong stench. An infected tonsil also causes bad breath. Diabetes, blood disorder, poor kidney and lung functions are other causes. Taking onions and garlic in one's food without question is one immediate cause of bad breath.

Smoker's breath

Another contributing factor to bad breath is smoking. This odor is attributed to the tar, nicotine, and other foul smelling things in the tobacco smoke that accumulate on your teeth and the soft tissue in the mouth. Tobacco can also dry your mouth allowing bacteria to grow in it. It is also a well-known fact that tobacco can contribute to gum disease, which is also a cause of bad breath.

If you are on a diet, then you might eat food with less carbohydrates and high protein. This is a good way of dieting, however, it can cause bad breath as well. The only way to cure this problem is by not taking too much food with protein.

Onions and garlic are the most common examples of foods with such strong odors that they remain on in your breath for a long time. Whatever you do, please make sure you do not eat onions and garlic too much.

The causes of post nasal drip could be a cold, the flu, allergies, cold temperatures, bright lights, certain foods, and even hormonal changes caused by pregnancy. It can also be caused by irritation to pollution.

Post nasal drip should not be left unnoticed and should be treated promptly. Diagnosing yourself and going to the drugstore for self medication is a no-no. Go to a doctor who specializes in nasal infections and have them properly diagnose what is causing your condition and follow his/her prescriptions.