Halitosis Facts And Treatments

Halitosis, a Latin derivative term from “halitus”, which means breath combined with the ‘osis’ suffix (a Greek suffix used in describing a medical condition), is a medical term used to describe and refer to foul smelling odor, bad breath, emanating from the mouth when a person exhales, breathes out or speaks.

Halitophobia, also known as delusional halitosis, is the fear of having bad breath. Individuals who suffer from halitophobia does not really have the medical condition of bad breath, but feels to have one out of having an obsessive compulsive disorder.

The causes of halitosis are varied and plenty, among the causes pointed are:

• • Food intake- onions, garlic, fish, dairy and meat have been observed to cause bad breath
  • Obesity- belching by obese persons had been shown to cause bad breath
  • Smoking – the nicotine and tar in the smoke leaves residue in the mouth which causes the foul odor
  • Alcohol consumption- most alcohol drinkers had been studied to have a bad case of bad breath.

Tonsil stones

Tonsil stones as a cause of bad breath is mainly due to the development of calcified materials in the tonsils and they are generally asymptomatic (without symptoms), but if they become large, as large and big as a peppercorn, they become the source of halitosis. The development of tonsil stones gives rise to the growth of chemicals in the mouth that has been described to smell an odor resembling a rotten egg and a decaying cabbage.

Treating and curing the tonsil stone will remove the cause of the bad breath, some natural cures and remedies to remove tonsil stones are:

• Gargling
• Scraping
• Probing
• Coughing

One: Gargling- the importance of discovering tonsil stones at its very initial stage of formation is crucial to curtailing its development. They can easily be removed by gargling with water that is warm and mixed with salt. Salty water can easily remove tonsil stones that are still small in size. Grape fruit extract (1 to 2 drops) added to a mouthwash (antiseptic) gargled twice daily is an effective small tonsil stones remover. It should be noted though that it might take fourteen days for the daily gargling of the solution to take effect.

Two: Scraping – a professor in the pediatrics section of the school of medicine at the Stanford University, Dr. Alan Greene, stated that tonsil stones can be removed naturally with the aid of an ordinary toothbrush by the means of scraping the stones. He says that caution must be employed in doing this method as it can activate the gag reflex and may hamper attempts to remove the tonsil stone cause of halitosis.

Three: Probing- with the use of a cotton swab placed at the back of the stone gentle pushing upward and probing should easily push out the tonsil stones out of its comfort area.

Four: Coughing- small tonsil stones are still capable of being removed by intense rigid coughing. Similarly, extending the head backward and placing the tongue at the mouth’s roof followed by swallowing is also another natural way to remove tonsil stones.