Even though lungs are not hugely to blame for bad breath, there are the rare occasions that this has not been the case. If you have lung breath it will not go away by just simply brushing your teeth.
Lung breath is the result of two things: infection and disease or it could be from something that you have eaten or drank, that has entered into your bloodstream, and once having reached the lungs, will then release these bad smelling odours. Let’s firstly tackle the disease angle.
Any lung disease or disorder will lead to bad breath. Lung cancer usually causes a distinct breath odour, so much so that breath is now being used as an early indicator. Other lung disorders known to cause bad breath are cystic fibrosis and asthma. They both have an acidic smell associated with them.
It is not only lung diseases however, that can affect ones breath. As we breathe out we are basically removing carbon dioxide that is carried to our lungs by our blood. One example is diabetes. Diabetes has been known to give breath a sweet and fruity smell. The smell alone could be a clue in having it diagnosed. Kidney and liver disorders also send unwanted smells into the blood stream and will be released via the lungs.
Now that we know about lung diseases that can cause bad breath, let’s look at the ones that are not caused through diseases. These are the kinds that come from smoking, drinking and certain foods we eat. These kinds can cause your breath to smell three times worse and could originate from the mouth, the stomach and the lungs. But this article is only about the lungs.
Let’s start with smoking. The reason that smoking causes bad breath is because of the chemicals found in cigarettes like tar and nicotine. These chemicals build up in your mouth and stick to the teeth, gums, tongue and on the sides of the cheeks. Tar and nicotine cause bacteria to build up in your mouth and if you do not brush your teeth often after having a cigarette it can cause bad breath because the bad breath bacteria will thrive on these chemicals. Dry mouth because of smoking is another cause for bad breath. Smoking dries out the mouth because it stops the continuous flow of saliva. Our saliva is essential as it washes out all the bacteria which could cause bad breath. To keep the saliva flow going in your mouth try Therabreaths mandarin mint lozenges or our sugar free gum.
Next we move on to alcohol. The body treats alcohol as a toxin and will try to convert it to a less harmful chemical. Metabolism will convert 90% of the alcohol to acetic acid, and the rest will be released through the respiratory system and through sweat. Because alcohol enters the blood stream it will go to the lungs, and from there give you alcohol breath which you breathe out (this is how the breathalyzer works).
Now let’s look at food and how some can cause bad breath. Certain foods and drinks can cause bad breath by feeding the bacteria that give off the sulphur compound we experience as bad breath. We did an in depth article on all the different kinds of foods and drinks to avoid. The article is named Foods to avoid for better teeth and breath. In this article we listed as well as gave a detailed description of how they cause bad breath and stain the teeth.
Bad breath can be solved by keeping a good oral hygiene going through brushing your teeth at least twice a day with Therabreath toothpaste, by flossing and using Therabreath alcohol free mouth rinse.