Drooling during sleep is caused by difficulty swallowing saliva, and excessive drooling can be a sign of an underlying medical problem. Treatment options include medication, physical therapy, and surgery on the salivary glands.
People drool when they sleep because they have trouble swallowing saliva or holding it in while they are unconscious. People with excessive saliva production or drooling problems while awake may suffer from significant saliva-related problems while sleeping. There are health issues associated with excessive saliva production that lead some people to pursue treatment to address the problem. Treatment may be provided by a general practitioner, neurologist, or other specialist physician, depending on the underlying cause.
The salivary glands are in constant production, generating saliva to lubricate the mouth. Saliva production increases when people eat. The mouth is designed to help people hold this liquid, and people swallow regularly to allow it to drain into the stomach so it can be eliminated from the body. During sleep, the mechanisms for holding saliva in the mouth and swallowing it may not work as well; swallowing reflexes, for example, may be less active.
In children, drooling during sleep is very common because the reflexes involved have not yet been formed and have not yet been honed. In adults, some drooling is normal, but excessive amounts can be a sign of an underlying medical problem. People with certain neurological disorders may have difficulty managing saliva while they sleep or are awake. Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, facial paralysis and Alzheimer’s disease can all be associated with this problem. Pregnant women may also start producing more saliva than usual.
People may also find that they try to drool while sleeping when they don’t feel well. For these individuals, there may be a spike in saliva production associated with a period of ill health, followed by a decline. Some medications can also increase saliva production and lead to drooling which becomes more noticeable during sleep. If people notice that they seem to be making more saliva than usual or that they have trouble holding it back, they may want to talk to a doctor about it to discuss possible causes and treatment options.
In addition to soiling the sheets, drooling can become a problem because people may be at risk of inhaling the fluid or developing other problems. There are some medications that can sometimes address this problem and patients sometimes also benefit from physical therapy to develop stronger reflexes. Such therapy can also help people talk and eat if they are having difficulty. Surgery on the salivary glands may be another option, although it is usually a last resort treatment.
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