Bad breath, also known as halitosis, can result from poor dental health habits. It can also be made worse by the types of foods you eat and other unhealthy lifestyle habit. But, many times, bad breath is the warning sign for many other illnesses you could have!
However, latest technology has shown that bad breath can be a symptom of more severe diseases and conditions. Detecting them on time is crucial for successful healing.
Here are some conditions that can be detected by bad breath.
Heart Failure
According to an article published in 2013 by the Journal of American College of Cardiology, researchers have found a way to identify heart failure with a simple breath test. The scientists collected breath samples from 41 patients. Twenty-five were officially diagnosed with acute decompensated heart failure. Sixteen patients had other cardiovascular conditions but showed no signs of heart failure.
Researchers then used mass spectrometry technology to analyze the breath samples for molecular and chemical compound signs of heart failure. Within two hours, the breath test correctly distinguished which patients had heart failure from the other cardiac patients.
Stomach Cancer
One of the reasons why doctors and scientists always say that routine screening should become a habit is because there are so many “hidden” signals and symptoms our body is sending us. Bad breath is one of those “symptoms” for stomach cancer. A new technology for testing and analyzing breath called nanoarray analysis can identify the levels and the amount of compounds that are linked to stomach cancer.
To prove the efficiency of the technology, researchers in Haifa, Israel, looked at breath samples of 484 people who had fasted for 12 hours and avoided smoking at for least three hours prior to the test. Ninety-nine of the participants had received stomach cancer diagnoses but had not yet begun treatment. The nanoarray analysis accurately distinguished between the different early stages of stomach cancer, which can help physicians identify patients at higher risk of developing the condition.
Although the study is small and preliminary, a larger trial is currently underway in Europe to determine if nanoarray analysis can be used as an effective screening method
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Lung Cancer
Pathologists normally perform biopsies and ultrasound scans to diagnose lung cancer, but using breath tests may be a cheaper and non-invasive alternative, according to a 2013 study. Using a pre-programmed "electronic nose," which detects different profiles of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath, researchers from the University of Latvia collected breath samples from 475 subjects, which included a mix of 252 lung cancer patients, 223 patients with different lung conditions and healthy volunteers, 265 smokers, and 210 non-smokers.
They found that among the non-smokers, lung cancer was accurately identified in 128 subjects and misdiagnosed in only five. Among smokers, the electronic nose correctly identified 114 people as having lung cancer, misdiagnosing five.
Diabetes
Diabetics suffer from inadequate insulin production. This leads the body to burn fat, a condition known as ketoacidosis. Which in turn leads to an increase in ketones, which the body attempts to eliminate through urine and the lungs. This leads to a breath that has a fruit like odor or odor like acetone. (Acetone is a by-product of ketone production. Ketones are created when the body burns fatty acids)
Kidney Failure
Bad breath has also been found to indicate possible kidney failure. Researchers speculate this may be due to metabolic changes that lead to dry mouth, lack of saliva flow, and an altered sense of taste. All of these contribute to halitosis as the saliva flow fails to cleanse the mouth.
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Respiratory Infections
Flu, sinusitis, bronchitis and other respiratory infections are often the cause for bad breath. When your respiratory tracts are broke down, the production of bacteria-feeding cells is triggered. Allergies can also trigger the same process as allergies often clog the nose. The result is you are starting to breathe through your mouth, which often results with growth of bacteria and bad breath.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Known shortly as GERD, Gastroesophageal reflux disease is another ailment that can be detected by bad breath. Acid reflux is another digestive condition that results with bad breath. What happens when you have one of these two digestive conditions is that the food processing process in your stomach is delayed, or sometimes even prevented. And since the food you consume is not moving and is not being processed through your digestive system, it starts to decay.
Sleep Apnea.
People with sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and snoring may have trouble breathing through the nose, and are more likely to breathe through their mouths, which increases bad breath. And while morning breath can be a normal thing (there is a reason why dentists recommend washing teeth in the morning), sometimes, it can also cause for concern. Saliva production decreases while we sleep and odor-producing bacteria grow during that time.
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