Bad breath and metallic taste in mouth can occur due to several reasons. Certain drugs, pregnancy, exposure to toxic heavy metals and illness can all cause sour, metallic taste on the tongue. It can keep one from enjoying natural appetite and could sometimes indicate a serious health issue. Chemotherapy patients also report having a constant metallic taste in the mouth. Let us look at some home remedies to get the bad taste out of the mouth due to medication.
1. To remove bad taste out of mouth caused by medicine
Certain medicines like Lugol’s Iodine can cause a bad, sour or metallic taste in the mouth. Drink plenty of water and rinse the mouth out. If the use of mouthwash does not eliminate the sour taste from the mouth, you may want to discontinue the medicine. Many sleeping pills also cause metallic taste- avoid their use or speak to your doctor about replacing them.
2. Scrape the tongue
If you have a thick white coating on the tongue, chances are you could suffer from metallic taste. So try tongue scraping. Brush your teeth with baking soda and use hydrogen peroxide to rinse out the mouth. These days, you can get special tongue cleaners or use the rough edges of the backside of your toothbrush for the purpose.
3. Activated charcoal
Exposure to toxic metals and environmental toxins can all lead to metallic taste. Take activated charcoal which binds to toxins and throws them out.
4. Homeopathic remedies for metallic taste in mouth
Several effective homeopathic remedies can get rid of metallic, sour taste in the mouth.
- Cocculus-This remedy is indicated for sour, metallic taste in mouth with excess saliva, nausea and motion sickness. Patients may also show strong desire to drink cold drinks.
- Mercurius– This homeopathic remedy is indicated for sweetish metallic taste, bad breath and saliva.
- Nux Vom– This medicine is ideal for patients with sour, bitter taste, nausea and vomiting and bloating, hunger and irritability.
- Pulsatilla– This remedy is for those with sour, greasy taste in mouth lack of taste and blocked nose.
5. Go on a juice fast
A juice-only or water-only fast of 2-3 days can help you get rid of all toxins stuck to the colon and intestines which may be responsible for white coating on tongue along with bitter, sour or metal like taste. Drink plenty of water when fasting. Avoid all kinds of processed foods. You can eat soups, broths and stews during this period. Avoid tea or coffee and alcoholic drinks. Also avoid red meat, refined flour for the duration of the fast. The sour taste and other symptoms will all pass away within 2-3 days.
6. Check the saliva ph
Ideally, saliva’s ph should be around 7.3. Saliva strips are readily available in the market for checking the ph. You should do the procedure in the morning before eating or drinking anything. An imbalance in saliva can cause metallic, sour taste in the mouth. To balance salivary ph, add some ph drops, lemon or lime, baking soda or apple cider vinegar to drinking water. Sip the mixture through the day. If saliva’s ph is still off, see your doctor.
7. Saline rinse
Try an oral salt water rinse several times a day to get rid metallic taste. Use salt water gargle to remove bitter or sour taste from the mouth. This remedy is recommended to pregnant women.
8. Oil pulling
Upon waking up, perform oil pulling using extra virgin coconut oil or sesame oil. Swish the oil of your choice all around the mouth several times and spit it out after 10 minutes of gargling. This remedy will detoxify the blood and saliva, freshen up your breath, reduce white coating on the tongue and also give you stronger, brighter teeth. Do this daily to see results. Oil pulling to reduce metallic taste is recommended for cancer patients, pregnant women and those taking medicines to reduce the toxic overload.
9. Pickles
Pregnant women can eat pickles to reduce the metallic taste in mouth.
10. Sugar free gum
Sucking on sugar free gum, mints or lemon drops can also eliminate metallic taste in mouth from antibiotics or sleeping pills.
Use these 10 home remedies to get rid of sour, acrid or metallic taste in the mouth.