G165
SJOGREN'S SYNDROME: DRY MOUTH AND EYES
Sjogren's syndrome means that a person develops dry eyes and mouth and often has joint pains and blood tests that show that a person's immune cells are trying to kill a germ, but doctors can't find a specific germ that causes the symptoms. . When doctors cannot find a cause for a disease, they often call it autoimmune which means that they don't have the foggiest idea of the cause Just because doctors cannot culture a germ from a disease does not mean that the disease is not infectious. New bacteria are discovered every day and doctors do not have available dependable tests for chlamydia, mycoplasma and ureaplasma, common causes of dry eyes, mouth and vagina.
A report from Israel shows that antibiotics control Sjogren's syndrome (1). Some cases of Sjogren's disease are associated with helicobacter inflection in the stomach causing belching and burning in the stomach (2). Hepatitis C is associated with Sjogren's syndrome (3). There's another reason for people with Sjogren's syndrome to take antibiotics. Saliva continually washes bacteria from the mouth into the stomach where they are killed by stomach acids. Lack of saliva allows bacteria to accumulate and cause gum and tooth disease (4).
For DRY EYES: I recommend a bacterial culture of the eye and Neosporin ointment twice a day in each eye for a week. If that does not help, a cipro eye drop (Ocuflox) four times a day for several weeks and Neosporin ointment in each nostril at bedtime for several weeks. Plus Zithromax 250 mg once a day for 9 days.
For DRY MOUTH: Lack of saliva can cause severe mouth and neck pain, frequent mouth infections, difficulty talking and sleeping, dental cavities/ and difficulty swallowing because saliva lubricates the food and allows it to pass down your throat. Dry mouth can be caused by infection that can be cured with antibiotics, nerve damage and drugs such as blood pressure medication such as clonidine, Prilosec and other ulcer medications, antihistamines, stimulants such as amphetamines and intestinal medication called atropine. You could also suffer from Sjogren's syndrome, associated with arthritis (Interferon treats Sjogren's syndrome. British Med Journal Jan, 1993). Since the mouth is normally full of germs that belong there, it is very difficult to culture a bacteria that causes dry mouth, but some people are cured by taking the antibiotics metronidazole and clarithromycin for a couple of weeks. If that doesn't cure you, you may have to take a 5 mg pilocarpine pill four times a day, but it can cause sweating, nausea, running nose, chills, dizziness and frequent urination (5,6,7,8). You can order a machine called Salitron made by Biosonics in Pennsylvania. You put an electrical probe in your mouth to stimulate the salivary glands to produce saliva.
1) M Stein, G Miller, L Green. Prophylactic antibiotics in recurrent parotitis in a patient with Sjogren's syndrome. Clinical Rheumatology, 1999, Vol 18, Iss 2, pp 163-164.
2) P Aragona, G Magazzu, G Macchia, S Bartolone, G DiPasquale, C Vitali, G Ferreri.Presence of antibodies against Helicobacter pylori and its heat-shock protein 60 in the serum of patients with Sjogren's syndrome.Journal of Rheumatology, 1999, Vol 26, Iss 6, pp1306-1311.
3) M RamosCasals, M GarciaCarrasco, R Cervera, J Font. Sjogren's syndrome and hepatitis C virus. Clinical Rheumatology, 1999, Vol 18, Iss 2, pp 93-100.
4) A Almstahl, U Kroneld, A Tarkowski, M Wikstrom. Oral microbial flora in Sjogren's syndrome. Journal of Rheumatology 26: 1 (JAN 1999):110-114.
5) Archives of Internal Medicine 1999(January);159:174-181.
6) NEJM 1993;329:390.
7) The Medical Letter August 19, 1994.
7a) FB Vivino, I Alhashimi, Z Khan, FG Leveque, PL Salisbury, TK Tranjohnson, CC Muscoplat, M Trivedi, B Goldlust, SC Gallagher. Pilocarpine tablets for the treatment of dry mouth and dry eye symptoms in patients with Sjogren syndrome - A randomized, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose, multicenter trial. Archives of Internal Medicine 159: 2 (JAN 25 1999):174-181.
8) S Nusair, A Rubinow.The use of oral pilocarpine in xerostomia and Sjogren's syndrome.Seminars in Arthritis and
Rheumatism, 1999, Vol 28, Iss 6, pp 360-367.
Checked 8/9/05