Bad Breath And Liver Disease – Or Halitosis?

Bad breath and liver disease is a concern. How does fetor hepaticus affect the liver? The symptoms of fetor hepaticus include a strong, musty smell in your breath. In most cases, it is the result of severe liver disease, which affects your liver’s ability to filter out toxic substances. Due to this, sulfur substances are absorbed into the bloodstream and can enter the lungs. However don’t be alarmed about fifty million people in the United States suffer from bad breath or halitosis.

Most of them, however, do not get any treatment because they are embarrassed. If you ask yourself what are the causes of halitosis, the answer is tied to oral hygiene and problems. Also, if you are often asking what causes this even after brushing your teeth, the answer could be that you have other health issues. One study suggests that up to ten percent of all halitosis cases are caused by diseases that occur outside the mouth. Therefore, below are some of the reasons why you might be suffering from bad breath. Let’s get going.

Causes of Breath

Causes of Breath include gum disease, diet, oral health. Below we get more into it.

• Liver Disease

The liver can be a source of bad breath. The Frank liver failure that leads to a hepatic coma is determined by the presence of a sweet-smelling musty odor. The breath odor is caused by the body trying to get rid of the amino acid breakdown products that contain sulfur.

Also, cirrhosis can lead to a breath odor that smells like rotten eggs or decayed blood. When your liver failure is at a late stage, there is the omission of a lousy breath called ‘fetor hepaticus.’ The smell of this type of bad breath is sweet with a musty aroma. Therefore, the kind of bad breath can identify whether you have liver problems.

• Genetic Disease

Almost one percent of United States citizens suffer from this under-diagnosed disease. The fish odor syndrome causes both a bad body and a breath odor. Apart from smelling fishy, the smell can also resemble the smell of rotting garbage, eggs, or urine. If you have this genetic disease, your body’s ability to break down choline is compromised. Hence, trimethylamine is build up in your body.

The smell is then secreted through urine, blood, sweat, air from your mouth or nostrils, and saliva. To reduce the excretion of this bad smell, you can reduce the intake of foods that have high choline such as beans, kidney, broccoli, liver, and eggs. You can also choose to eliminate these foods from your diet completely.

• Digestive System

One way of learning how to prevent halitosis is to start with the digestive system. Many causes of lousy breath start with the digestive system. Bad breath is caused by any condition in your body that allows air to flow from the stomach through the esophagus and into the oral cavity. However, the primary cause of bad breath in the digestive system is a general imbalance. Having acid reflux, constipation, bloating or burping will result in halitosis.

• Diabetes

Bad breath appears if you have diabetes, your body will not produce enough insulin. Hence, you will burn fat and produce ketones causing ketone breath. Diabetes can also lead to chronic kidney failure. A chronic kidney failure produces breath that smells like ammonia. The fishy smell results from the breakdown of the urea present in the saliva.

• Lung Infection

What are the causes of halitosis that can be answered by the conditions that result from lung infections such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, and bronchitis? Lung cancer also has a distinct bad breath. Therefore, doctors are using the breath as an indicator of lung cancer. However, if the mucus that is produced in the lower respiratory tract is significant, it can be challenging to identify the real cause of the bad breath.

Some of the reasons for bad breath are asthma and cystic fibrosis. If you have asthma, you are likely to have dry mouth and a restriction of airflow and hence, the presence of halitosis. If you suffer from cystic fibrosis, you will have a high production of immobile mucus that blocks the lung sinus. A blocked sinus will cause bad breath.

• Metabolic Breath

Metabolic breath is the type of bad breath that is caused by the kind of diet you have. For instance, a ketone diet can cause bad breath. The chemicals called ketones that are produced when you are on a ketone diet have an odd fruit and nut odor.

However, the smell is usually a short-term problem that happens as your body adjusts to a new metabolism. Another type of diet that leads to bad breath is hunger. When you are fasting, the mouth reduces the amount of saliva it produces. The result is a dry mouth that prevents bacteria from being cleared causing a sulfuric odor.

• Sinus Infection

An infection in your sinuses is what causes halitosis even after brushing. Sinusitis is an inflammation that occurs in your nasal sinuses. The disease can be long-term or short term. Other complications such as allergies and structural nose problems can also lead to a sinus infection.

The work of the nasal sinuses is to warm, moisten, and warm the air that is entering the nasal cavity. They also aid in the vocalization of specific sounds. When an infection occurs, a run-over occurs on the post nasal drip that results in bad breath due to the buildup of metabolites, microbes, and foreign objects.

• Tonsillitis

Tonsil stones can cause bad breath. This is especially common when your tonsillitis repeatedly occurs in a chronic and acute form. Tonsils usually act as the first form of defense against bacteria from the air or the food that enter your mouth. Therefore, when you have halitosis, it can be an indication that you are suffering from tonsillitis.

The foul smell comes from the compressed sulfur compounds, the bacteria, and the mucus that is contained in the tonsil stones. A specialist will take a look at your tonsils to confirm whether they are inflamed from tonsil stones or if they are affected by bacteria or viruses.

• Menstruation

If you are a woman on your menstruation, it is possible for you to have increased lousy breath before and during your period. This is because the level of saliva reduces during menstruation resulting in bad breath. Bad breath is caused by the changes in hormones during your period.

Dr Patricia Panucci

Dr Patti Panucci attended the University of Louisville School of Dentistry for four years, where she graduated with a DMD degree (May 2000) among the Top 10 in her class. Following that, she headed west to Los Angeles to complete her three-year residency at one of the top-ranked orthodontic programs in the country – the University of Southern California.

Along with her certificate in orthodontics, Dr. Panucci earned a master’s degree in craniofacial biology. During those three years, she fell in love with Southern California beach life and decided that this was where her future lay.