Question:
How can I control bad breath in the hospital before I can eat or drink anything?

I'll be on a Nothing by Mouth order for the first two days after my surgery (until the leak test). I'm wondering...how will I control bad breath odor? Can I brush my teeth or rinse with mouthwash if I spit it out? How about breath spray (sugarless). I'm always so conscious of any embarrassing body odors, I'm worried that my breath will be horrible and that would be mortifying in communicating with hospital staff or my guests.    — [Anonymous] (posted on December 6, 2001)

December 6, 2001
Yes, you can brush your teeth as often as you like and use mouthwash as long as you are good at getting it all spit back out. I don't know about breath spray, but as long as it doesn't go down the throat you might be ok with it. I got back up to my room at around 9:00 p.m. and they got me some ice water in a cup that I could dip a "sponge stick" into and swab it around my mouth. As long as I could keep my mouth moist I felt the bad breath was kept at bay. I had my leak test done the very next morning and was given the ok to start sipping liquids right after which also helped a great deal. Take care and hope this helps...
   — Kellie Jo B.

December 6, 2001
BB will be the last thing you're thinking about. I was on NPO to and was able to brush my teeth. I'm breath conscious too. No one was close enough to me to get the full halitosis effect (lol). Have you tried those Listerine strips though, they are GREAT!!! And no swallowing required. It's like a thin piece of scotch tape that dissolves on your tongue and refreshes your mouth. Good luck and God bless! (and quit finding stuff to worry about :-)
   — Kimberly L.

December 6, 2001
I brought a small bottle of mouthwash with me and left it in easy reach in my bathroom. All I did is rinse and spit well each time I went there. Also, I found a product called </b><i>Tooth Towels</i></b> that come in a little packet, individually, like wetnaps. They are moistened with mouthwash so all I did was unwrap one and rub my teeth, gums, and mouth/tongue while I was laying in bed. It went a long way to freshing my mouth as well as removed that sticky gummy stuff that comes from having a dry mouth. HUGS
   — Jo (Part 2) C.

September 13, 2002
Trust me....I'm a surgical nurse and that does pre-op and recovery at BTC. Just about everyone has *bad breath* the morning of surgery and we don't think anything about it. It's normal and it's because you haven't eaten anything. Just check with YOUR specific doctor about using mouthwash or toothpaste afterwards.
   — Lynette B.

September 13, 2002
Hi!<br> When I was in the hospital, they gave me sponges that tasted vaguely minty to eat my ice chips with. They also gave me someting called "Mouth Moisturizer" by Pepco "for use on lips and mouth." It's a minty gel... pretty sure I lived on that stuff in the hospital... because it seemed impossible to brush my teeth enough times a day to get the horrible taste out of my mouth. The nurse said it was designed for people on ventilators or something to that effect. It wasn't great, but it was better than nothing.<br> Good Luck!
   — Kelly B.

September 13, 2002
If you can, get someone to bring in some Listerine and gargle it. Just don't swallow it at all. Spit it out. I still do that in the morning and at night. For the first two weeks I had morning breath 24hrs a day due to the tastebuds being changed due to the surgery. Now I do it when I wake up in the morning because sometimes I have real morning breath and it helps with my thirst as well. Those pocket strips also work well. I used those as well.
   — Lawrence R.