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I Used To Wake Up With The Tip Of My Tongue Hurting
But repurposing some bandage technology stopped that
Yes, I have been taping my mouth shut at night thanks to a casual mention of “dry mouth” in someone else’s post.
Dry Mouth
My wife and I have been struggling with dry mouth for years now. It started when we moved to a retirement community fifteen years ago and totally ignored that the home we bought has forced hot air heat. Forced hot air lowers humidity drastically and can be unhealthy. Static electricity is the least of it; dry skin and mouth is the worst.
We should have known better: our first home had forced air but we had quickly replaced that with hot water. We forgot the downsides of hot air heat in New England; our retirement home soon reminded us. It’s a smaller home with no cellar; converting to hot water would be difficult. Electric might be too expensive. I think we are stuck with it.
Humidifiers and all the rest
We used humidifiers, but they only provided partial relief. My doctor tells me that getting older hasn’t helped — I’m trying to do something about that. Some of the pills my wife takes for pain also contribute, which is just another of those “rock and a hard place” choices life hands us.
We tried dry mouth mouthwashes and sprays, but found no help there. Dry mouth can be painful, it can cause tooth decay, and it can interrupt sleep.
But thanks to that post, it’s fixed. Taping my lips shut at night has eliminated my dry mouth problems. It looks ridiculous, but so what?
There are a few things you might want to know before trying this.
Gauze Bandage Tape
I used gauze bandage tape. Other suggestions include surgical tape, which doesn’t seem to be much different from gauze tape, and mouth tape, which I don’t think would be suitable for my purpose because it does not cover the mouth completely.
Panic
Some individuals may not like being forced to breathe through their nose.
Some might even panic. I almost experienced that myself. I woke up from a dream to find myself…
