Allergies And Salivary Gland Swelling Posted: 03-30-06 10:23am
I am a 51 year old female that have had
swelling in my submandibular salivary
glands(mostly left side)for approximately
3 years. My glands swells whenever I
sleep and sometimes when I vigorously chew
on something. I visited the ear,nose
throat doctor and was pretty much told
that it is something I have to live with
and to massage the gland,and suck on lemon
drops when swelling occur.I have allergies
(runny nose, sneezing,constant itching and
fluid feeling in ear canal)that occurs
during the day. Anytime during the day I
may get a nasal drip. I was prescribe
nasonex and told to discontine taking the
otc antihistamines(benedryl,sufaded..Etc)
because they may be drying up my mucous
system. Sometimes a white stringy thick
mucous looking substance(maybe dried
saliva?) comes out, which I have to press
hard on the gland in order to expel it
thru the duct. Would drinking alcohol
and/or taking antihistamines cause this?
I don't think I have any stones because
sometimes during the day the swelling goes
down. Also, I now have a habit of
pressing on the glands, even when they are
not swollen, which also causes the gland
to swell. Is there a specialist I can see
for this problem other than a
pyschologist?
