People with ALS, especially in the bulbar form, often suffer from salivation problems. Indeed, they cannot swallow saliva properly. Everyone constantly produces saliva and swallows it unconsciously. During eating, salivary glands become extra active, secreting thin saliva. Saliva has an important function in the digestion of food. It is also important for oral hygiene. But for patients with ALS, saliva often takes on problematic forms. We therefore list some tips for both saliva loss, mucus formation and saliva flow.
Tips for saliva loss:
- Avoid acidic drinks like grapefruit juice, orange juice and lemon juice.
- Avoid acidic foods such as fruit puree.
- Add a dash of unwhipped cream to acidic foods.
- Avoid irritating substances, sharp herbs and spices in the diet.
Tips from the dietician for mucus formation:
It is possible that patients with ALS suffer from mucus formation after eating and drinking certain foods.
- Avoid foods that can have a mucus-forming effect: sweet dairy products such as milk, chocolate milk, all kinds of custard and pudding, chocolate.
- Replace sweet with acidic dairy products, which cause less mucus formation.
Tips for saliva flow:
- Medication can help, ask your speech therapist and general practitioner for advice.
- More invasive treatments, such as botulinum toxin injections and/or (radiotherapy) radiation of the salivary glands, may be considered if medications do not help.
- A speech therapist can teach you to consciously swallow excess saliva.
- Surgical therapies can provide a solution for the treatment of saliva flow.