The following tips help to reduce dry mouth symptoms: Sip water or sugarless drinks often. Let small ice chips melt in your mouth. Avoid drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, tea, and some sodas – caffeine can dry out the mouth.
Avoid foods that dry your mouth
You should also avoid spices and acidic foods such as citrus, as these can irritate a dry, sore mouth. You should also avoid sugary foods that can contribute to rapid tooth decay, which is already increased by lower saliva production in Sjogren's syndrome.
Try drinking small sips of water and rinsing your mouth frequently. Sucking on ice chips can also help. Use artificial saliva substitutes (mouthwash or spray), which coat the mouth. Avoid medicines that are known to cause dry mouth, such as antihistamines, diuretics, and some antidepressants.
Get physically active. Light exercise can help in maintaining weight, managing stress, and beating fatigue. Studies show that physical activity can improve strength, diminish fatigue, and reduce pain and depression that accompany most autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
Immunosuppressive Medications
For moderate joint pain, your doctor may prescribe an immunosuppressant. These medications work by curbing an overactive immune system, thereby decreasing inflammation. Your doctor may prescribe a mild medication first, such as hydroxychloroquine, sold as Plaquenil®.
Allergens : Allergenic foods such as dairy, peanuts, and eggs should be avoided by those with Sjogren's syndrome, even if they do not have allergies to these foods.
Falk: What kinds of factors can make Sjogren's worse? What is the effect, for example, of stress? Jonas: Well, like all autoimmune diseases, patients who feel stressed or are under unusual stress will often have exacerbation of their symptoms. Learning to manage that stress in your life is very important.
Other natural interventions that may benefit patients with Sjögren syndrome include N-acetylcysteine, maqui berry extract, green tea extract, resveratrol, vitamin B12, and folate.
Global cognitive impairment in Sjögren's
Most patients experience “brain fog” symptoms, which manifest as memory lapses, forgetfulness, mental confusion, and difficulties in concentrating, organizing, or anticipating future events.
If scaly, dry skin is present, utilizing moisturizers with lactic acid, urea, or salicylic acid can be used. Examples include: AmLactin®, CeraVe® SA, and Eucerin® Roughness Relief.
Overall, there was good adherence to the exercise program, with a mean 72% compliance rate for the complete program. After 16 weeks, the walking program had significantly enhanced the cardiorespiratory fitness of patients in the training group, compared with the control group.
The neurological complications of Sjögren's syndrome are extensive and range from cognitive difficulties, to burning toes and feet.
Poor sleep is one of the common causes of fatigue. Symptoms of pain and dryness in Sjogren's syndrome can create trouble in getting to sleep and staying asleep. Ensure you are able to minimize dryness in your throat, eyes, skin, and other organs before heading to bed. Use a humidifier in your bedroom if needed.
Patients with pSS have an increased risk of newly diagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders and sleep disorders that may impair their quality of life [4,13,14].
These and previous studies suggest a model for pSS that separates the disease into several stages: 1) initial injury to the submandibular and lacrimal glands via an environmental insult and LTα; 2) amplification of local injury via the production of type 1 IFN; injury to the parotid glands, lungs, and kidneys is seen; ...
For Sjögren's patients, an optimal range of humidity is between 55% and 60% regardless of the ambient temperature. You can monitor the humidity in your home with a simple humidistat.
Constipation and diarrhea can occur with Sjögren's. Increase vegetables. Try magnesium supplement for constipation.
While many patients experience dry eyes, dry mouth, fatigue and joint pain, Sjögren's can also cause dysfunction of organs such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system.
In response to the sun, Sjögren's patients can experience skin rashes, ocular sensitivity, pain, and disease flares.
Daily use of a prescription- based fluoride product, such as Prevident gel or Prevident 5000Plus toothpaste at bedtime following brushing and flossing may be recommended.
Dazodalibep now is the only therapy in development for Sjögren's that has achieved the Phase 2 primary endpoint in both of these patient populations, according to Horizon. The company plans to work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to design a Phase 3 clinical program of dazodalibep in Sjögren's.