Saliva...101

[Tomswife]

Secretions and mucous. I apologize for this clueless question. But what causes the issues with secretions and mucous?
Tom does not have this symptom.

 

[lisa g]

Tom is lucky, for me excess saliva can be triggered just by taking nutrition or medication through my peg. If I eat food by mouth things that are acidic can produce more saliva. Tomato sauce is the worse.

 

[Bestfriends14]

Mucous builds up as the diaphragm muscles start to weaken. The more they weaken, the more difficult it is for PALS to cough out or fully swallow excess phlegm, so it can accumulate in the lungs.

For secretion, as the bulbar muscles weaken, excess saliva can occur, again, difficult for PALS to get rid of. As Lisa mentioned, certain foods can trigger more saliva and more mucous.

 

[Tomswife]

Thanks. I asked the pulmonologist but he either didn't understand the question...or didnt know the answer. I dont think he had als experience?

 

[affected]

You produce up to 1.5 litres of saliva a day when all is normal. We don't notice as we swallow it all the time.
When swallowing is impaired, this saliva can start to dribble out the mouth, or get accidentally aspirated.
Sometimes PALS feel they have 'excess' saliva, but it is often just that they are no longer unconsciously swallowing normal amounts of saliva.

If you do start to produce even more than that, things get really difficult as 1.5 litres is a lot.