A hot mouth
14. A hot mouth
A woman's menopause journey is a natural part of life ~ thank you Mother Nature for that wonderful, generous ‘gift’ which just keeps on giving ~ we can categorically say, hand on heart, that our bodies’ and minds' reactions to our ever-changing and fluctuating hormones are anything but normal!
The peri/menopause really is the gift that keeps giving, especially when it comes to some downright weird symptoms! Not only do we hotties have to cope with hot flushes, but some of us may experience a ‘hot mouth’, aka Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS).
The word baffled does immediately spring to mind at this latest menopausal ‘revelation’!
We’re more than accustomed to having a potty mouth but, WTAF is a hot mouth? And who knew that a hot mouth would be a possible peri/menopause symptom to add to this ever growing list of symptoms?
But who are we to moan, eh?
Well fellow hotties, we are entitled to have a good ol’ moan seeing as we are the reluctant recipients, and a neverending sense of this ‘joyous journey’ where we have little to no control over what’s happening, and not very much light at the end of the tunnel!
Will we ever get there, wherever ‘there’ is!?!?
The answer thankfully is YES!
It may be a bumpy journey with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, tears spilled, tempers lost, and laughter often found in the most unlikely of places, but ultimately, we will ‘get there’, hopefully intact, ready to take on the next chapter of our lives.
Sooooo, back to the hot mouth ~ pucker up hotties…
The menopause can cause a reduced production of saliva in some women where you experience a dry mouth and sensitivity to certain foods. BMS affects the roof of your mouth, your lips and your cheeks.
Symptoms can include feelings of burning which can be hot, tingling and painful. You may even experience a metallic or strange taste in your mouth, with falling oestrogen levels squarely taking the blame. Damn those pesky hormones muscling in where they’ve not been invited!
So how can we stop fanning those flames, and help to cool down those hot(tie) mouths of ours?
- Try sipping cold drinks throughout the day ~ ideally non-alcoholic, or you will end up a little worse for wear before the day is out! Avoid carbonated drinks as they can worsen symptoms.
- Try sucking on small ice cubes ~ they can help soothe any irritating, burning sensations, AND they will keep your cool drinks even cooler, BONUS!
- You might think that limiting your consumption of hot and spicy foods would do the trick; whereas others would say ‘fight fire with fire’! Believe it or not, some spicy foods can actually help BMS. Capsaicin, found in hot peppers, can help disable the pain-signalling chemicals in your nerve cells. If hot and spicy food isn't your thing then you can buy capsaicin oil over the counter.
- Try using a toothpaste for sensitive teeth, or one which contains bicarbonate of soda to help neutralise acid.
- BMS can be triggered by tobacco, so maybe now is the time to quit smoking ~ this will benefit your health AND wealth enormously. HOT(TIE) TIP: One hottie in our midst is saving £30 a week after ditching the habit ~ taking a leaf out of our resident financial expert, Danni Watts-Jones’s book, she has set up a standing order to her savings account, and is on target to save over £1.5k this year!!
- And finally ~ learn to manage stress. Stress is not good for your health and it can exacerbate peri/menopause symptoms tenfold, so take a daily chill pill in the form of yoga, meditation, relaxation therapies or exercise ~ all of which can also help you be less reliant on smoking ~ and YES, you’ve guessed it hotties, we have a playlist ready for you to dance to.
WARNING: This playlist may result in you dancing far too enthusiastically, resulting in a hot body to rival/match your hot mouth, but as we said earlier, perhaps it is good to fight fire with fire!?
Burn baby burn, go have yourselves a Disco Inferno!
Hot In The City - Billy Idol
Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
Sex On Fire - Kings Of Leon
Cold As Ice - Foreigner
Relight My Fire - Take That featuring Lulu
Lollipop - Mika
Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
All Fired Up - The Saturdays
Burn - Ellie Goulding
Spice Up Your Life - The Spice Girls