Bad Breath and the Sinus Connection

Nobody would ever guess that a common cold or the flu would lead to troubles with halitosis, but there is in fact a link between bad breath and sinus problems. Of course, the nice thing for any of us with a sinus infection and bad breath is that our noses are typically so stuffed up that we wouldn't even notice a severe case of halitosis even if it bit in the.well, you know. But, perhaps all of those people were not just stepping away from us all those times because they were afraid of catching what we had!

Even when we do have a sinus infection, the ultimate culprit behind 9 out of 10 cases of halitosis is the bacteria living in your mouth. Now there are actually hundreds of varying strains of these microscopic organisms living in your oral cavity-some of them are good for us and help control the harmful ones that tend to cause bad breath. Under normal circumstances, there should be a balance between the good and bad bacteria and thus no bad breath. However, when conditions are right, the harmful bacteria will breed faster than normal and lead to halitosis. Normally, the harmful bacteria are kept in check by three different mechanisms or systems, including:

• Immune System
• The Beneficial Bacteria
• Saliva

When you have a sinus infection or any kind of medical problem involving viruses or bacteria, the immune system becomes strained and cannot adequately do its part to keep the microbes in check. This causes the harmful bacteria to breed faster than normal which in turn slows the reproduction of the beneficial microbes in the body-there goes the second line of defense in the fight against bad breath.

The third but most critical means of preventing bad breath and the bacteria that cause it is your own saliva. Saliva helps wash away the food that bacteria feed upon and it also contains both oxygen and enzymes that both help control the harmful microorganism in the mouth.

So, when you have a sinus infection, you may have increased flow of postnasal drip into the oral cavity. The discharge from this flow will become deposited on the tongue-home to a large population of the bacteria that cause bad breath. This discharge provides the bacteria with more than enough food to breed rapidly. The by-products produced by bacteria are sulfur compounds that actually create the odors that we smell when someone has bad breath. When bacteria have abundant sources of food (such as when we fail to practice good oral hygiene and remove them via brushing and flossing), they breed faster, produce more by-products, and thus create more bad breath problems.

Plus, because the nasal cavity is clogged, we take antihistamines in order to breathe again. However, until the passage is clear, we may breathe through the mouth causing a depletion of saliva and thus eliminating our last line of defense against bad breath. Plus, the antihistamines also cause dehydration and dry mouth so even when the passage is clear, we may still have a bad breath symptom. Therefore, bad breath and sinus problems do indeed go hand-in-hand and now you have a better understanding of just why some of your friends and family were standing so far back the last time you were sick!

For an all natural product that helps stimulate salivation as well as help kill the harmful anaerobic bacteria inside your mouth, try OraMD®. OraMD® is an all-natural halitosis product made from the essential oils of almond, spearmint, and peppermint. OraMD® offers a long-term solution for bad breath and halitosis by cleaning the mouth and killing the bacteria that causes these volatile sulfur compounds, or VSC's.

To learn more about how OraMD® works for bad breath and sinus, follow the link.