To combat dry mouth and frothy saliva, you must practice good oral hygiene. The WHO reports that over 59,000 worldwide die from rabies each year, mostly in rural areas with limited access to vaccines. Recognizing these contexts helps in identifying when foaming at the mouth needs immediate medical attention.
Know Your Medications
Anyone who is foaming at the mouth or sees someone who is should seek emergency medical attention immediately. This can cause an injury that leads to bleeding, creating a foamy mixture of saliva and blood. If the individual is unconscious and not breathing, or only gasping, immediately begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
What are the common causes of foaming at the mouth?
Saliva may then pool in the mouth and mix with oxygen and other gases when a person is unable to swallow. One of the symptoms of rabies is paralysis of the throat muscles, which makes it difficult to swallow. Tonic-clonic seizures usually cause an immediate loss of consciousness followed by whole-body convulsions. People experiencing tonic-clonic seizures have abnormal electrical firing throughout the brain simultaneously.
This happens because the virus affects the nervous system, making swallowing difficult. Many drugs sold illegally are laced with the opioid fentanyl, which can lead to an unexpected opioid overdose. Go to a hospital, local health clinic, or a doctor for post-exposure prophylaxis shots as soon as possible.
- Drug overdoses can cause altered mental state, difficulty breathing, and blue lips or fingertips.
- If a fever causes a tonic-clonic seizure, this can lead to foaming at the mouth.
- Your body goes into overdrive making saliva, but you can’t swallow it—so foam forms.
- To combat dry mouth and frothy saliva, you must practice good oral hygiene.
Rabies is a what would cause foaming at the mouth viral infection that primarily affects the central nervous system. It is often spread through animal bites and can cause foaming at the mouth due to increased saliva production. Unintentional foaming is usually a sign of a serious medical condition that requires emergency medical care.
Around 10% of people experience non-epileptic seizures triggered by syncope, low blood sugar, POTS, panic attacks and more. Some people with POTS experience seizure-like episodes, but whether POTS directly causes psychogenic non-epileptic seizures is debated. However, according to CDC data, bats are the most common cause of rabies exposure in the United States. Foaming at the mouth is one of the most characteristic symptoms of rabies.
Rabies and Foaming Saliva Symptoms
While rabies causes foaming, several other conditions do as well, like seizures or drug overdoses. Another myth suggests only those with mental health disorders will experience this symptom. Excessive foam at the mouth can indicate various medical issues, ranging from simple irritation to more serious conditions. When someone is foaming at the mouth, it can be a frightening and alarming sight. Foaming at the mouth can occur due to a variety of reasons, including seizures, poisoning, or medical conditions such as rabies. Regardless of the cause, it’s essential to provide prompt first aid and treatment to the individual in distress.
Dry Mouth Causes and When to Seek Care
Call 911 (or your local emergency services number) if you think you’re having a drug overdose or heart attack. Get emergency help if someone you’re with has a seizure that lasts for more than five minutes. Foaming at the mouth can be a symptom of lots of issues and health conditions. Even if you’re not in immediate danger, you should still see a healthcare provider to get the cause diagnosed and treated.
What to do if someone is having an opioid overdose
CPR involves chest compressions and rescue breaths, designed to circulate blood and oxygen to the brain and vital organs. The specific techniques of CPR are best learned through a certified CPR training course. However, starting CPR immediately is better than waiting for professional help to arrive. Certain food and drink combinations can create a foaming effect in the mouth. Addressing foam in the mouth involves a combination of medical treatments and home remedies. These solutions vary depending on the root cause of the condition.
- A person having a seizure will require first aid at the time of the seizure.
- Additionally, excessive frothy saliva can lead to aspiration pneumonia if inhaled into the lungs.
- For drug overdoses or reactions, you’d usually see symptoms like rapid heart rate, dilated pupils, and hyperactivity.
- The saliva becomes thick and foamy due to the presence of air bubbles.
In severe cases, the lack of oxygen can cause seizures and foaming at the mouth. “Foaming at the mouth” is a phrase often used to describe the appearance of saliva or froth around the mouth. This can be due to a variety of factors, including medical conditions, poisoning, and dental hygiene.
Some people with seizure disorders and types of epilepsy require lifelong management medications called anti-seizure or anticonvulsive drugs. However, naloxone will not work on overdoses caused by stimulant drugs. People with seizure disorders or epilepsy can experience a few different types of seizures, each with its own unique set of symptoms. Even if a small amount of bubbly saliva spills out of the mouth, a person may need emergency medical attention. In movies and TV shows, foaming at the mouth is a quick way to show that someone is sick.
Treatment will vary depending on the cause of foaming at the mouth, but emergency treatment is usually necessary to prevent serious, irreversible complications. Rabies can infect and damage the brain and central nervous system of all types of warm-blooded mammals. The virus transmits from one host to the next through the saliva of an animal with rabies. Any injury that damages the nerves that send signals to the salivary glands could lead to decreased saliva production.
If you see it, you should call 911 or your local emergency services and get emergency medical assistance right away. Foaming at the mouth happens when excess fluid in your mouth or lungs mixes with air, causing froth to appear. However, a person should contact emergency services if it is the person’s first seizure, they experience multiple seizures, or they have a serious injury. Many of the issues that cause foaming at the mouth can affect you while you’re asleep. But it’s much more likely that you’re experiencing harmless drooling. Talk to a healthcare provider if you notice any new symptoms that make you worried.
Avoiding Wild Animals
But if you’ve been bitten by a dog and don’t know the dog’s vaccination history, it’s important to get emergency care to prevent rabies. Opioid overdose can cause foaming at the mouth because the overdose affects your lungs. This fluid can mix with air and come out of the mouth like a foam. If a person experiences foaming at the mouth at night, it is important to seek immediate medical help for an accurate diagnosis. A heart attack can increase pressure within the heart, which can result in pulmonary edema, or a buildup of fluid in the lungs. Pulmonary edema can cause a person to produce thick, pink-tinted foam at the mouth.
Rabies is less common where we live, but it’s still out there—often carried by bats, raccoons, skunks, and unvaccinated dogs. The virus attacks nerve cells, leading to spasms in the throat and mouth. Your body goes into overdrive making saliva, but you can’t swallow it—so foam forms. Rabies is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infected animal, such as a rabid cat.
