How to treat drooling in cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy often drool. Parents must be very worried about this situation and want to know how to treat drooling in cerebral palsy so that they can find the correct treatment method. So what is the effective treatment for drooling in cerebral palsy? Next, this article will introduce you to methods for treating drooling caused by cerebral palsy, for your reference only. Please see the detailed introduction below.

When a baby is born, drooling is common. Because their salivary glands secrete vigorously, the oral space is relatively narrow, and their swallowing function is not fully developed, drooling is a normal physiological phenomenon. Then, when a child is over one year old and still drools frequently, parents should pay attention, because this is a major manifestation of cerebral palsy in children. For example, children with athetoid cerebral palsy often have this symptom. .

What is the effective treatment for drooling in cerebral palsy? Children with cerebral palsy often drool. Parents can press the area between the nose and lips of the children with their fingers frequently, and give the command "swallow". Over time, the children will learn to close their mouths and swallow, and swallow their saliva by themselves. If it doesn't work, surgery must be used to completely solve the problem of drooling in children with cerebral palsy.

At present, the common carotid artery adventitial sympathetic nerve network stripping is used clinically to treat drooling in children with cerebral palsy, with significant results. The principle of this surgery to treat drooling in children with cerebral palsy is based on the following two aspects:

1. After the sympathetic nerve network of the common carotid artery adventitia is stripped, the brain blood vessels can be dilated, the cerebral blood supply is increased, the symptoms of cerebral ischemia and hypoxia are improved, collateral circulation is established, the function of some neuronal cells in a critical state is restored, and the compensatory function of the brain tissue is improved, thereby improving the swallowing movement and the coordination function of the oral sphincter through central regulation and reducing drooling.

2. The salivary glands are innervated by the sympathetic nerves and glossopharyngeal nerves. The sympathetic nerves that innervate the salivary glands originate from the lateral horns of the gray matter of the thoracic spinal cord. After exchanging nerves in the superior cervical ganglion, they send out postganglionic fibers, which cling to the adventitia of the common carotid artery and are distributed upward to the salivary glands. The surgery stripped off the adventitia of the common carotid artery, blocked the conduction of the sympathetic nerves, weakened the direct control effect of the sympathetic nerves, and reduced the secretion of saliva.

The above is an introduction on how to effectively treat drooling caused by cerebral palsy. I believe that after reading the above introduction, you have already understood the methods of treating drooling due to cerebral palsy. Generally speaking, parents can help their children with nasal and lip rehabilitation training, which can help their children practice swallowing movements. If it has no effect, surgery can be used for treatment.