I have a dry mouth and drinking water doesn’t quench my thirst. Why?

Review expert: Guo Xiaoyan, deputy chief physician of the Rheumatology and Immunology Department of the 252nd PLA Hospital

With the dry and strong winds in spring, many friends have succumbed to the dry and cold air in Beijing, suffering from dry mouth, tight skin, dry eyes... Many people have had to join the health-preserving army of "drinking more hot water".

Source: pixabay

However, if hydrating and moisturizing cannot improve the dryness symptoms, you should be alert, as you may be suffering from Sjögren's syndrome !

What kind of disease is Sjögren's syndrome? Let's talk about it today.

What is Sjögren's syndrome

The glands in the human body that have secretory functions are divided into two types: endocrine glands and exocrine glands .
The substances secreted by endocrine glands are what we often call hormones . Endocrine glands do not have secretory ducts. The hormones they secrete directly enter the surrounding blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, and are transported throughout the body by blood and lymph. After combining with target cells, they play a regulatory role on various life activities in the body.
The secretions of exocrine glands do not directly enter the blood circulation and lymphatic circulation, but are transported to the corresponding tissues or organs by glandular ducts to play a role . Sweat glands, digestive glands, lacrimal glands, salivary glands, etc. are all exocrine glands. Source: proprofsdiscuss.com Sjogren syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease that mainly invades exocrine glands such as lacrimal glands and salivary glands. This disease is more common in women aged 40 to 60.
The current mainstream view is that the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome is related to multiple factors such as infection, genetics, and endocrine.
When the autoimmune response of susceptible people is induced by pathogenic factors such as viral infection, a large amount of immunoglobulins and autoantibodies are produced. At the same time, the function of immune cells decreases, causing tissue damage to the exocrine glands.

Sjögren's syndrome has an insidious onset and diverse clinical manifestations, which are mainly related to glandular dysfunction, with salivary glands and lacrimal glands being the most common.

Sjögren's syndrome can cause massive destruction and atrophy of salivary gland epithelial cells. 70% to 80% of patients will experience severe dry mouth , need to drink water frequently, and have difficulty swallowing solid food, which must be accompanied by liquid food.

Insufficient saliva secretion weakens the cleaning and protection of teeth, so rampant dental caries is also one of the characteristics of Sjögren's syndrome, which is manifested by the gradual blackening of teeth, followed by small pieces falling off, and finally leaving only residual roots. In addition, dry and cracked tongue surface, atrophy of tongue papillae, intermittent parotitis, etc. are all typical manifestations of the oral cavity of Sjögren's syndrome patients.

Dry mouth and dry eyes are the most common manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome

Source: linkedin.cn

At the same time, keratoconjunctivitis sicca caused by lacrimal gland hypofunction is also one of the typical manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome. The reduction of mucin secretion by the lacrimal gland often causes symptoms such as dryness, foreign body sensation, less tears, or no tears in the eyes. In severe cases, there may even be symptoms such as corneal ulcers.

In addition to oral and ocular manifestations, involvement of exocrine glands in the respiratory tract mucosa, digestive tract mucosa, reproductive tract mucosa, etc. can also cause corresponding local manifestations.

Source: Self-made by the author The clinical manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome include not only local symptoms, but also systemic damage in about 2/3 of patients.

How is Sjögren's syndrome treated?

The exact cause and pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome are not clear , and there is no cure clinically. Existing treatments are mainly replacement and symptomatic treatments.

It is extremely difficult to improve dry mouth symptoms. First of all, you should improve your lifestyle habits, stop smoking and drinking, avoid taking medications that cause dry mouth, keep your mouth clean, and reduce tooth decay and secondary oral infections. Secondly, using substitutes such as artificial tears and saliva can also help alleviate local symptoms such as dry mouth and dry eyes.

Source: hippopx

For the systemic manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome, active treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, etc. is needed according to the specific situation.

In addition, biological agents that can inhibit the production of immune cells are also considered to be effective drugs for the treatment of Sjögren's syndrome.

Most patients can control their condition and have a good prognosis after proper treatment. However, if the disease is not discovered in time and diagnosis and treatment are delayed, the condition may worsen and even endanger life.

What the editor wants to say is that if you experience "dryness" symptoms that cannot be relieved by conventional hydration measures , you may wish to go to a regular hospital for a systematic screening. Do not confuse the disease with ordinary "autumn dryness" or "winter dryness"!