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What you can do: You can help manage GERD with diet and lifestyle changes, such as reducing meal size, not eating for several hours before bed and elevating your head when you lie down. This is another common cause of a sour or unpleasant taste. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). If the muscle that opens and closes the opening between your esophagus and stomach doesn’t close completely after you eat, food and stomach acid can travel back into the esophagus.“It also is sometimes a side effect of radiation therapy to the head or neck or chemotherapy to treat cancer.” “Over-the-counter medicines such as antihistamines can cause the problem as well,” she says. And it’s not just prescription medicines that have that effect. Some antibiotics can cause a sour taste, Dr. Sometimes it’s not the infection or illness, but the medication you’re taking to treat it that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. And, of course, avoid close contact with others who are sick. Keep your hands away from your face (especially the mouth, nose and eyes). What you can do: Reduce your chances of picking up a bug or getting an infection by washing your hands often. When you get better, the sour taste should go away too. Infections or illness. When you get sick (with a cold or sinus infection, for example), your taste buds may feel the effects.And don’t skip those regular dental cleanings and check-ups, Dr. What you can do: Brush at least twice a day and floss at least once. “Poor oral hygiene can often cause a sour taste in your mouth,” Dr. Not brushing and flossing properly. “Poor oral hygiene can often cause a sour taste in your mouth,” Dr.What you can do: Add this side effect to your list of reasons to try to stop smoking.
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It also dulls your sense of taste, and may leave a sour or unpleasant taste in your mouth. 1 cause of preventable disease and death. What you can do: Make a point of drinking at least six to eight glasses of water each day to boost your hydration “Dehydration can leave your mouth dry and can alter your sense of taste,” Dr. In some cases, that sour taste could come from something as simple as not drinking enough water. Policyįamily medicine physician Amber Tully, MD, discusses the seven most common reasons it might happen ― and when you can do something about it. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center.
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