Halitosis - treatment at home, struggle, how to get rid of it?

An unpleasant odor interferes with life and deprives a person of normal functioning. It becomes the cause of complexes and reluctance to communicate with others. You cannot put off solving this problem and treat the cause of the disease using traditional medicine.

Bad breath can disrupt a person’s normal functioning and prevent full communication with people. In most cases, the main reason for its appearance is diseases of the human digestive system, as well as the presence of pathogenic microbes in the mouth. In the fight for fresh breath, not only medications are effective, but also proven folk methods given by nature.

How to treat bad breath using traditional methods?

Only eliminating the cause itself can help you effectively get rid of and forget about bad breath. From childhood, a person is taught that teeth need to be brushed twice a day. This helps fight diseases and cleanses the oral cavity of food debris that tends to get stuck and rot, producing an odor. If simple brushing of your teeth is powerless, try trying traditional medicine on yourself.

Thus, people have been able to determine that fresh apples, chamomile flowers, lemons, peppermint, sunflowers, all kinds of herbs and even berries have healing properties. You should carefully study the characteristics of your body and begin to get rid of the disease, avoiding allergic reactions.

How to remove an unpleasant smell at home, depending on the cause?

When the owner of bad breath (scientifically called halitosis) knows for certain that it is not due to diseases of the oral cavity or digestive organs, then it is permissible to carry out treatment at home. For example, in the morning, after a get-together with friends and drinking alcohol, my breathing became repulsive. The reason is clear - the result appeared after the body processed the harmful substance. In most cases, food helps - porridge or soup (with bay leaves added to the broth), after which you need to brush your teeth and chew parsley. All these factors - introduced from the outside - are called exogenous, and their owner can eliminate them himself. Endogenous halitosis appears due to diseases of the oral cavity, and it cannot always be eliminated on your own.

Type of halitosis	What can cause it?	Treatment
Exogenous	Failure to comply with oral hygiene rules; overdrying of mucous membranes; eating certain foods - horseradish, onions, garlic, radishes; bad habits – smoking, alcohol.	Carrying out hygiene measures (cleaning, rinsing); adequate water intake; Chewing mint or parsley leaves.
Endogenous	Gingivitis; periodontitis; the appearance of odors due to pieces of food, stuck braces, dental braces, implants (and the possible onset of inflammation due to this); disruption of the healing process after tooth extraction.	Contact your dentist to identify and eliminate the cause.

Organ diseases can also cause bad breath:

tonsil disease;
throat and lung infections;
gastrointestinal disorder;
diabetes.

Shiyka Oksana
Dentist-therapist
Note! If the problem disappears after cleaning the teeth and tongue, but soon returns, it makes sense to think about complex treatment.

After smoking and alcohol

The best folk remedy for bad breath after drinking alcohol or smoking is leaves of parsley, dill, mint, and cilantro. Bad breath is caused by volatile sulfur compounds. Parsley contains chlorophyll, which prevents the formation of such compounds. After smoking, you should rinse your mouth with chamomile - it is an excellent natural antiseptic.

The body becomes severely dehydrated when consuming large quantities, so it is necessary to drink clean, still water. A cup of coffee helps someone come to their senses, but it certainly won’t save them from the smell. Caffeine dehydrates you even more.

After meal

Onions, garlic and horseradish are of great benefit to the body, especially during the cold season. Dishes with them get a special flavor. The problem is that they leave their mark for a long time.

A glass of milk can neutralize sulfur compounds and eliminate odors. If you are allergic to milk or a person simply does not drink it, you can eat a green apple or lettuce - they will reduce the unpleasant odor.

After sleep

At night, the body's biological clock causes the mouth to produce less saliva. Due to this, it dries out and the next morning the breath becomes stale. The best folk remedy for bad morning breath is a glass of water or a piece of apple. It is necessary to eliminate the underlying dryness of the mucous membranes.

Shiyka Oksana
Dentist-therapist
Important! After sleep, you shouldn’t immediately run to brush your teeth. First you need to eat a piece of apple or drink water. Oral hygiene is carried out after breakfast.

A strong odor can be a harbinger of caries or gastrointestinal diseases. If the problem disappears after professional cleaning by a hygienist, it means that the problem was due to severe plaque or tartar. Thorough brushing of your teeth and tongue at night and then avoiding meals (including sweet snacks and tea) until the morning will help reduce the severity of the odor.

Due to gastrointestinal diseases

Digestive problems can ruin your breathing. These diseases affect bad breath:

enteritis;
colitis;
dysbacteriosis;
cholelithiasis;
constipation (then the smell risks being complemented by skin rashes).

If there is a suspicion that bad breath is caused by problems with the intestines or stomach, then it is worth assessing the condition of the tongue. When making a diagnosis, the doctor will ask if there is plaque in the morning and what color it is - white, yellow, greenish.

A balanced diet and exclusion of foods that irritate the stomach will help relieve unpleasant odors. You can drink or rinse your mouth with chamomile decoction - it helps relieve inflammation. If the problem is constipation, you should drink more fluids and eat dried apricots, prunes, and beets.

Treating bad breath with herbs

Many herbs have a healing effect on the digestive organs and heal wounds in the oral cavity. To eliminate bad breath, try the following:

Mint. You will need dry leaves that need to be crushed. One tbsp. l. Brew pharmaceutical mint with boiling water (one glass) and leave for at least an hour. After the herb has brewed, add a few drops of table vinegar or regular lemon juice to it. After straining the resulting broth, rinse your mouth with it three times a day, or after meals.

Chamomile. Two tbsp. l. The flowers are poured with water (about two glasses), allowed to boil and simmered over low heat for up to five minutes. The resulting tea is drunk throughout the day. You need to drink fresh tea every time. You can simplify the task by buying already formed chamomile tea bags at the pharmacy and pouring boiling water into a cup, cover with a saucer and let it brew for a few more minutes.

Alder leaves. This is the most effective medicine that can literally “kill” the foul odor. Two tbsp. l. Finely chopped leaves of pharmaceutical alder are poured with water (about half a liter) and cooked for up to half an hour over low heat. The resulting broth is cooled and used as a rinse. It is advisable to rinse your mouth at least four times a day

Wormwood. Brew it as tea in any quantity and use it as a drink and mouth rinse several times a day. Wormwood can be brewed with chamomile and mint

St. John's wort. It is recommended to use not the herb itself, but its tincture. You can make it yourself by pouring two tablespoons of the herb into a glass of vodka and leaving it in a dark place for a week, or you can freely purchase it at the pharmacy. Thirty drops of tincture are diluted with a glass of water and rinsed with your mouth several times throughout the day.

Top fastest ways

Some foods and herbs will help quickly remove unpleasant odors:

Parsley or calamus . Greens and herbal roots are used to eliminate the most common cause of odor in healthy people - eating onions or garlic. It is enough to chew the herbs for about 1 minute.
Roasted sunflower seeds . They also eliminate odors caused by eating certain foods.

Anise seeds and nuts . If you eat them in the morning on an empty stomach, then halitosis will bother you less during the day.
Carnation . The spice eliminates pathology for a long time if you put 1 cap on your cheek and suck on it a little. You should not chew it - it will become very bitter. The procedure should be carried out 3 times a day.
Fresh apples . Coarse fiber from fruits cleans teeth of bacteria, oxidizes them and prevents reproduction within 1-2 hours. As a result, halitosis disappears.

Maple or birch sap . Dilute 3-4 tbsp. l. folk medicine in a glass of water and drink. You can also rinse your mouth.
Wooden spoon . Use a small wooden spoon to remove plaque and bacteria from the root of your tongue. Rinse your mouth with regular mouthwash in the morning after the procedure.

No folk methods will help if one of the main causes of halitosis is not eliminated - an incorrect lifestyle combined with junk food.

How to get rid of bad breath using spices?

There are a number of spices that can temporarily remove bad breath. These include:

Carnation. This spice is a good helper when the smell bothers you and you need to get rid of it quickly. Place one clove behind your cheek (between your cheek and teeth) and do not remove it for several hours. You can use two to three cloves a day, no more

Caraway. Just try chewing a pinch of cumin and the smell may disappear for a while. The spice has a pleasant spicy aroma

Chewing a bay leaf several times a day helps. You can also brew the leaves and use the decoction as a mouth rinse.

K ardamon. Its specific odor can temporarily “remove” the problem and eliminate bad breath

Unusual tinctures

Effective folk remedies for bad breath are not only medicinal herbs:

Horseradish tincture . From 1 tbsp. l. spice pulp and 150 ml of vodka prepare a mixture. After 5 days, filter into a small bottle. Mix 30 drops every day with a glass of warm water and rinse your mouth.
Mint decoction with spices . A mixture of mint decoction mixed with a pinch of cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamom eliminates well.

Dried fruit infusion . Dried apricots have antiseptic properties. Boil the concentrated compote, take it and treat the oral cavity.
Saline solution . Another remedy for the accumulation of bacteria is a mixture of 1 tsp. soda and the same amount of salt. Add them to a glass of warm water and rinse your mouth 3 times a day.
Essential oils with green tea . Mixtures of mint, lemon balm, lemon, eucalyptus, and tea tree are good for eliminating halitosis. Before taking esters orally, you should consult a doctor. For rinsing, 2-3 procedures per day are enough.

Hydrogen peroxide . An antibacterial mixture of 100 ml water and 50 ml peroxide will help cleanse your mouth of bacteria.

The fight against the symptoms of the disease must be accompanied by treatment of the cause. If you do not undergo an examination and do not treat your teeth, then folk remedies will only give a short-term effect.

Oil to get rid of bad breath

Sunflower oil and sunflower seeds are endowed with excellent properties. Many people successfully get rid of bad breath with the help of sunflower oil. It is recommended to take one tablespoon of oil into your mouth and try to rinse your mouth with it for at least 10 minutes. The oil has the ability to “pull out” pathogenic bacteria from hard-to-reach places and eliminate the unbearable odor.

Some people recommend carrying a handful of sunflower seeds, fresh or roasted, and crushing them if necessary to eliminate the smell. The seeds effectively remove the stench, but unfortunately, they do not eliminate the problem itself.

Pharmacy solutions for oral hygiene

To remove odor from the mouth and prevent the appearance for a while, rinse. For these purposes, ready-made solutions are used:

Chlorhexidine. Prevents microbial proliferation and also inhibits fungi.
Triclosan. It has a powerful antiseptic and antimicrobial effect and retains the effect for a long time. This property is used in the manufacture of toothpaste and mouthwash.
Camphomenes. The drug contains camphor, eucalyptus oil, furatsilin, etc. Used for inhalation. Relieves inflammation, kills germs.
Cetylpyridine. Active against fungi, viruses and microbes.

Halitosis can be brought under control when treatment is carried out with hydrogen peroxide. When applied to the mucous membrane, oxygen is released from it. It is destructive to microbial flora. At home, used for rinsing, a hydrogen solution reduces bleeding gums.

It cannot be applied in its pure form to the mucous membrane; the drug is too active and there is a risk of burns.

Add one or two teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide to a glass of water, put it in your mouth and rinse. Helps fight stomatitis, gingivitis, tonsillitis and other inflammations caused by microbes.

A mixture prepared at home for cleaning teeth and gums copes well with the task. Mix half a teaspoon of baking soda, four drops of lemon juice and 15 drops of peroxide. Use a brush to clean your teeth; you don’t need to press it hard so as not to injure your gums.

This treatment and hygiene option is suitable for removing bad breath and brightening tooth enamel. After the procedure, wait ten minutes, then eat and drink. This drug should not be abused; hypertrophy of the papillae on the tongue may develop.

What berries will help get rid of bad breath?

Some berries can help you in the fight for clean and fresh breath:

A decoction of rose hips or strong tea can fight pathogenic microbes. It is consumed as a drink and used as a rinse

Alder berries are squeezed and juice is obtained, which is mixed with water. Rinse your mouth with the resulting solution. You should not drink such juice or solution, as it is quite poisonous.

Cranberry tincture has healing properties and can eliminate unpleasant odor

Main reasons

There are many folk recipes for getting rid of this unpleasant phenomenon, but first you need to know the main factors that contribute to the occurrence of a bad smell.

Various reasons can lead to the appearance of halitosis, for example, it can be caused by:

Baking soda and bad breath

Often the cause of bad odor is inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity. Regular baking soda can get rid of gum inflammation - this is a proven and effective remedy of all times. It is recommended to regularly rinse your mouth with a soda solution throughout the day and after each meal.
To prepare the solution, stir a teaspoon of soda in a glass of warm water. You can add a drop of iodine and a teaspoon of salt. These components have wonderful antibacterial properties and are able to eliminate gum inflammation and heal wounds.
You can also make a paste from baking soda, adding water to it and periodically brushing your teeth with it. This method can not only eliminate unpleasant odor, but also whiten teeth.

Other recipes

A folk remedy such as burdock seeds will help with the smell . They are crushed, mixed with 100 ml of water and a pinch of salt, and evaporated in a water bath. Add 50 ml of olive oil, stir and apply the composition to the gums.

A recipe containing 30 g of sage, 4 g of cinnamon, 8 g each of rose petals and cloves solves the problem well . Mix the components, pour 2-3 tbsp. l. honey and add 2 tsp. nutmeg. The ointment is applied to the mucous membranes of the mouth for 20-30 minutes.

Home remedies to help eliminate bad breath:

Apple vinegar

Take 1 tsp. home remedy 6-9% strength, mix with a glass of boiled water. Rinse your mouth with the solution for 1 minute. You can be treated in the morning after eating.

If you take the solution on an empty stomach, it will quickly normalize digestion.

You can add 1 tsp to the composition. honey. If there is no home remedy, buy good vinegar from the store. It should be sold in a dark glass bottle.

Celery juice

Use the root and greens of the plant in salads, as an additive to vegetable juices. The product affects digestive health and can be used to eliminate halitosis of various natures.

If the unpleasant odor is caused by dry mucous membranes, chew a slice of lemon. The acid will improve salivation and help you forget about the unpleasant odor for 1.5-2 hours.

Advice! Use unrefined sunflower oil if other recipes are not possible. Dial 1 tbsp. l. put the product in your mouth, roll it over the roof of your mouth and tongue for 5-10 minutes.

The tocopherol and fatty acids included in the product will eliminate bacteria and wash away food debris. You can also use fresh cranberries, strawberries or wild strawberries. They contain a large amount of acids that destroy microbial plaque and remove unpleasant odors for 1-2 hours.

Another unusual way to combat halitosis is natural coffee beans . Chew them in your mouth after eating. The oils and substances included in the product will destroy bacteria and hide the unpleasant odor for a long time.

Milk , a traditional folk remedy for various pathologies, will help get rid of the pronounced odor. Use the dry mixture to brush your teeth after using regular toothpaste.

What are the advantages of traditional methods of treating bad breath?

Traditional medicine has passed centuries and has not lost its relevance. Modern medicines appear and disappear from sale, but medicinal chamomile, rose hips and lemon always remain with us and help fight various ailments. And this is their main advantage
Traditional medicine offers many methods from which you have the opportunity to choose your own. It is known that about 30% of all humanity suffers from bad breath. This means that if you are experiencing difficulties, you should not be ashamed of your problem, but act! After all, it is much easier to get rid of bacteria than to distance yourself from society
It doesn't matter which treatment you prefer. You can eliminate unpleasant odor with a regular apple. Eat this fruit and it will thoroughly clean out all the remaining food between your teeth. It’s not for nothing that they say that “eating one apple is like brushing your teeth once”

Did you know about the benefits of lemon and citric acid? This remedy has been used for many centuries in a row, because the acid can eliminate pathogenic bacteria, and the citrus aroma eliminates stench.

What about parsley? Yes, parsley! Ordinary green juicy grass has many healing properties and is aimed at combating bad odor. Moreover, this healthy green actively helps digestion and fights gastrointestinal problems.

Eat as much healthy food as possible, perhaps completely review your diet, drink a variety of teas and rinse your mouth with healing infusions more often. The desire to succeed and folk remedies will definitely help you eliminate the problem and find clean, fresh breath.

Causes

The appearance of halitosis can be caused by various factors. The most common reasons are:

failure to comply with hygiene rules;

diseases of the oral cavity, teeth;

diseases of internal organs, disturbances in the functioning of body systems.

At first glance, failure to comply with hygiene rules may seem like the most harmless of all possible causes. In fact, you can only get rid of it if the form is not running. Sometimes adults do not realize the need to brush their teeth regularly. Dentists recommend doing this at least twice a day - morning and evening. The number of procedures can be increased if necessary, but twice a day is too much for some.

Food debris accumulates on the teeth; these deposits can be so soft that they cannot be felt. Over time, pathogenic microorganisms begin to multiply on them, which leads to the appearance of halitosis.

The most common oral diseases are:

caries;
periodontitis;
periodontal disease;
stomatitis;
malocclusion;
diseases associated with salivation.

All these diseases create an ideal environment for the life of bacteria and fungi.

Another cause of halitosis is diseases of the internal organs, most often associated with the following pathologies:

Gastrointestinal diseases - gastritis, ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux;
ENT diseases associated with the appearance of bacteria in the larynx and pharynx;
endocrine system disorders;
respiratory tract infection.

A dentist can diagnose halitosis caused by poor hygiene or oral diseases. Which doctor treats halitosis in diseases of internal organs? In this case, a comprehensive examination by different specialists is required: gastroenterologist, otolaryngologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist.

When a person has an unpleasant taste in his mouth, he does not immediately understand what it is. Sometimes it occurs after eating certain foods with pronounced taste qualities, or treatment with certain medications. Taste is often a sign of halitosis.

You can determine the presence of bad breath yourself. Sometimes it’s enough just to observe the behavior of your interlocutors: if people keep their distance all the time, don’t come close, especially when talking, most likely it is this delicate problem that interferes with communication. You can determine the smell by gathering your hands into a boat - you need to bring it to your mouth and nose, exhale deeply through your mouth.

There are several devices on pharmacy shelves that help in diagnosing halitosis. The simplest one is dental floss. If you pass it between your teeth, then smell it, the aroma emanating from it is what people feel upon contact. A more reliable device is a halitometer. This is an effective device for measuring breath freshness.

Advice! Some people do not want to purchase a halitometer because of its cost, but having bought a high-quality device, you can use it for a long time, for years, just by changing the batteries. Its durability fully justifies its price.

You can also suspect the presence of halitosis in case of reflux esophagitis, gastritis, and other diseases of the digestive system. Bad breath is a sure symptom of most of them. In this case, a diagnosis is carried out and methods of treating the disease itself are selected. Odor problems go away after therapy.

Folk remedies

The most difficult thing to get rid of bad breath after drinking alcohol. The issue of fumes is especially acute in the morning after a party, when you need to go to work or school. There are many options here. A glass of milk will especially help . Lactic acid neutralizes ethyl alcohol, although this is not the best solution for nausea.

If you need to quickly get rid of the fumes after wine or beer, do not snack on mints or chewing gum, this will only make the situation worse. It’s better to gargle with dill water , or even better, drink dill tea. A decoction of parsley will also help.

Coffee will help eliminate the aroma after a hangover . But in this case, the flavors will simply be replaced. The bad smell will be replaced by a pleasant bitter coffee aroma.

It's even more difficult for a smoker. He is haunted by constant problems. It is important to clean the oral cavity here. To do this, use herbal infusions and decoctions :

chamomile, thyme, sage;
Peppermint infusion helps well;
fennel and coriander.

Photo - Parsley for bad breath

The following recipe will help you quickly get rid of strong bad breath after cigarettes: mix chamomile decoction (a glass) with two tablespoons of mint infusion. You can simply chew some mint herb.

You can also get rid of the constant aroma of tobacco if you get into the habit of rinsing your mouth with professional medicinal mixtures after each smoking. For example, Stomatidin, Antitobacco and others.

But most often we are haunted by smells after eating. It is quite difficult to get rid of the fragrance of garlic and onions; these vegetables have very persistent enzymes in their juice. Traditional healers advise trying to chew parsley leaves. This plant contains special substances that will help neutralize the strong odor after food.

Another method will help get rid of the garlic aroma. To do this, you need to brew tea from fresh dill and mint leaves. Drink the decoction chilled.

Recipes with medicinal herbs also work well. Again, it's mint, lemon balm. Often, traditional healers use various mixtures of minerals. Let's say everyone knows that salt eliminates odors in the apartment, so why not rinse with it?

An ordinary lemon will save you from the aftertaste of fish or seafood. Just chew its crust or rinse your mouth with freshly squeezed juice.

What is halitosis?

Bad breath is medically called halitosis. It is not a disease in itself. Serves as a marker of problems in the body. Either in the oral cavity, or in the gastrointestinal tract, or in the functioning of organs.

If the problem is poor oral hygiene, then it is not difficult to eliminate it using home methods. If it lies in pathological internal processes, then it is unlikely to be possible without medical help.

The occurrence of bad odor is due to a violation of the microflora of the mucous membranes. When the balance between beneficial (aerobic) microorganisms that help the normal course of digestive processes and neutral or pathogenic (anaerobic) microorganisms shifts towards the latter.

Harmful microbes, as a result of their vital activity, parasitize on food particles retained inside the digestive system, protein deposits, mucus, various kinds of waste, and emit foul-smelling volatile substances and gases.

Diagnostics

Identifying the exact cause of halitosis makes it possible to eliminate it and make your breath fresher. It is advisable to start the examination with a general practitioner, who will refer you to specialized specialists: dentist, ENT specialist, gastroenterologist, proctologist.

Diagnostic methods used by specialists are:

anamnesis (questioning the patient),
organoleptic method (breath assessment based on the doctor’s sense of smell),
examination of the oral cavity and teeth,
checking on a halimeter - a portable indicator device (sulfide monitor),
nasal breathing testing,
gas chromatography,
spectrometry (studies of exhaled air masses at the ion level),
BANA test, which detects periodontal disease,
analysis of a smear taken from the oral cavity.

A person learns about a problem with a bad odor coming from his mouth from someone close to him. He begins to notice that people try to move further away when communicating with him. To check suspicions, he can use tests:

clean the gaps between the teeth with dental floss and smell it,
scrape the base of the tongue with a spoon, sniff the whitish coating, which can be removed,
lick the skin on the inside of the wrist, and when the saliva dries, evaluate what it smells like.