Why do I have bitter breath in the morning?

Many people will notice bad breath and bitter taste in the morning when they wake up. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, dry and bitter mouth are often caused by damp-heat problems in the liver and gallbladder. Psychological bitter mouth and lack of attention to oral hygiene can also lead to bitter mouth and bad breath.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Dry mouth and bitter taste are mostly caused by damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder

Patients feel a distinct bitter taste in their mouths, accompanied by dry mouth and tongue, distension and pain in the flanks, short and yellow urine, etc. These symptoms are often diagnosed as damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder in traditional Chinese medicine. Clinically, patients with liver and gallbladder damp-heat types such as acute hepatitis, acute cholecystitis, and acute urethritis often feel a bitter taste in the mouth. The symptoms of bitter taste in the mouth can be quickly improved by taking Chinese medicines such as Plantain, Centella asiatica, and Artemisia capillaris that can clear away heat and dampness, and soothe the liver and gallbladder.

Bitter taste in the mouth sometimes comes from emotions

Huang Xiaojing, a junior student with natural beauty and excellent academic performance, also has her own unspeakable secret: there is often a bitter taste in her mouth all year round, especially before exams or in the examination room, when the cerebral cortex is in a highly tense state, and the bitter, astringent and sour feeling in the mouth is even more obvious. Her bitter taste in her mouth was noticed three years ago when she was in her senior year of high school and was studying late into the night. She increased the frequency of brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth, but to no avail. The dentist said there was nothing wrong with her oral cavity, and internal examinations proved that all her organs were healthy. It turned out that the girl suffered from mental bitterness in the mouth.

The oral cavity of a healthy person generally feels fresh and comfortable, except for a slight bitter or sour feeling in the mouth when waking up at night or for a short while after getting up in the morning. Many people will have abnormal taste when they are sick: light, dry, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, numb, etc., among which bitter taste is the most common. Abnormal taste is different from bad breath. It is a subjective feeling of the patient and cannot be experienced by people around him.

Vitamin C is the holy grail for bitter mouth

The dosage of vitamins is three times a day, 2 to 3 tablets each time, and dissolve them under the tongue. Generally speaking, mild bitter taste in the mouth will disappear after taking the medicine 2 to 3 times. Even for severe bitter taste in the mouth, taking the medicine continuously for 3 to 4 days can solve the problem. Of course, using vitamin C tablets to treat bitter taste in the mouth is only an emergency measure, which only treats the symptoms and not the root cause. Bitter taste in the mouth is just a manifestation of multiple diseases or unhealthy lifestyle factors, not a separate disease. Therefore, to prevent and cure bitter mouth syndrome, the best way is to treat the primary disease, quit bad habits in life, such as smoking and drinking, and pay attention to oral hygiene.