By Sandee LaMotte, CNN
(CNN) — The evidence is irrefutable — a pile of drool atop a drenched spot on your pillow. As you awake with a start, you might even wipe that bit of spittle still dangling from your mouth.
Drooling can be embarrassing, especially if you’re waking up to a newly minted lover beside you. But if you’re sleeping alone or next to a seasoned partner who isn’t disturbed by bodily functions, experts say it’s not a big deal — unless it’s a frequent occurrence.
“Everyone drools at one time or another when we have too much to drink the night before or fallen asleep on the couch after a big holiday dinner,” said Dr. Landon Duyka, a clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology — head and neck surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
“If this is more of a persistent thing — you’re waking up every night and your pillow is drenched — we want you to see a doctor, especially if it’s recent,” Duyka said. “It could be a sign of a more serious sleep disorder or even a neurological condition such as Parkinson’s.”
What causes drooling
There are numerous causes of drooling — some benign, others less so, experts say.
“If you’re concerned, the first thing I suggest is an at-home sleep study to determine if there is a more serious reason behind the drooling,” said Dr. Neil Hockstein, founder and the chief medical officer of Parallel ENT & Allergy and a clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Sleep apnea: A potentially dangerous reason for drooling is sleep apnea, in which people stop breathing multiple times an hour for up to a minute during the night. In severe cases of sleep apnea, people stop breathing hundreds of times each night.
“When that happens people often switch to breathing through their mouth to get more air, which allows saliva to pool and escape,” Duyka said. “Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition — if your partner tells you that you snore at night or you often wake up with a dry mouth or drooling, consider seeing a sleep specialist.”
About 23.5 million people in the US who have sleep apnea are undiagnosed, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Yet the condition can lead to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, depression and even premature death if left untreated.
Mouth breathing: Being a mouth breather is a key cause of drooling, experts say. Some people are born with a tendency to breathe through their mouth, due to extremely small nasal passages or a recessed jaw. A congenital deviated septum, where the thin wall between the nostrils is displaced, blocking one of the airways, can also be a cause.
“If you suspect you might have a blockage due to a deviated septum, enlarged adenoids or the like, it’s a good idea to see an ear, nose and throat specialist who can decide if surgery would be helpful,” Hockstein said.
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