You know that when you have a sore throat, you are told by your doctor or any medical professional that the best thing you can do is to gargle with saltwater. Especially if you have a viral infection since you cannot take antibiotics. Even if you have a bacterial infection such as strep, you will also want to gargle with saltwater because it helps to soothe your sore throat in addition to taking antibiotics. However, are there other reasons that you should gargle with saltwater? There are and let’s go over five additional reasons to gargle with salt water now, so you can ensure that you have plenty of salt on hand.
Helps To Maintain A Good pH Balance
One of the reasons that you may be prone to infections is that your pH balance is out of whack. That means you could end up with an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. You want to ensure that you have enough good bacteria that will keep your throat and mouth healthy. The way to do that is to gargle with saltwater. It helps you maintain a healthy pH balance so that it neutralizes the acids, and too much acid in your system will encourage the growth of bad bacteria.
Helps With Nasal Congestion
If you have nasal congestion and you find that you need to blow your nose more often than usual, then you will want to begin making a habit of gargling with saltwater. That is because the saltwater will help remove the excess mucous build-up in your nose, as well as in your respiratory tract. It also helps to flush out extra mucus in addition to the harmful bacteria that could be overgrowing. It is important to do this if you have a cold or another viral infection. That way, you will be able to breathe better and be more comfortable if you make a habit of gargling.
Helps With Halitosis
If you have constant bad breath, then that is a sign that you have a lot of bad bacteria overgrowing in your mouth. If you are making a habit of gargling with salt water, that will help remove the bad bacteria and allow the good bacteria to grow instead. Therefore, it will help neutralize halitosis, and if you gargle twice a day, you will find that your breath will be fresher and you won’t have to be embarrassed about having bad breath. However, if you still have halitosis even if you gargle daily, then you likely have an underlying health condition that is causing the halitosis. Therefore, you will need to see your doctor about it.
Bleeding Gums And Sore Teeth
If you have bleeding gums, then that means you have a gum infection caused by too much bad bacteria in your mouth. Your teeth will also be affected as you will find that you have a toothache on top of sore gums. Therefore, gargling with salt water will help flush out the bad bacteria and will also help provide you with some relief for your gums. However, you may also need to go to a dentist for antibiotics if your gum infection is too advanced. Keep gargling!
Canker Sores
Canker sores or mouth ulcers are extremely painful and it can make it hard to eat and to talk. Therefore, the best remedy for healing canker sores is by gargling with saltwater. The salt will neutralize the bacteria that causes the mouth ulcers which will help heal the sore over time. Canker sores do heal up eventually, but the saltwater can speed it up.
The thing to do when you gargle with salt water is to not swallow any of it but to swish it in your mouth for 30 to 60 seconds and it is best to do it twice a day. Once in the morning, and once at night. That way, you will find that your mouth stays much healthier.
