Make a positive impact on sialorrhoea

Watch our film to see how sialorrhoea impacts quality of life and learn about available treatment options.

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Sialorrhoea is known as drooling or ptyalism. It occurs when saliva is involuntarily spilled from the mouth. This happens due to excessive saliva production, an inability to keep saliva in the mouth, or difficulty swallowing.^5,6

Sialorrhoea is common in children with various neurological disorders,⁶ including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and facial nerve palsy.²¹ In these patients, sialorrhoea is caused by two factors; difficulty swallowing saliva and an inability to retain saliva in the mouth due to lack of oral motor control.^5,27

Sialorrhoea can be exacerbated by poor posture and lack of head control. These are common traits of children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders.²⁷

Sialorrhoea is present in approximately 10% of patients with chronic neurological disorders¹⁸

Sialorrhoea affects approximately 22-40% of children with cerebral palsy²⁶

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Impacts

Sialorrhoea can have a profoundly negative impact on quality of life and contribute to social exclusion, self-esteem issues and substantial discomfort for affected children and their families/carers.^10,28

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Assessment

There are several systems employed for the clinical assessment and measurement of the degree and impact of drooling.¹⁰ Discussion with healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines is recommended.¹

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Management

Management options to control excess salivation in children include behavioural and non-medical interventions, medications and surgery.¹

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cartoon blue boy surrounded by medication to depict treatment options including a bottle, tables, injection and patch