Salivary Glands are Exocrine Glands which are affected by many Drugs, these drugs affect their function, secretion and Size of the Glands in general or affect Specific Gland.
In many cases we see that even in the absense of medication some patients suffer from lack of or Excess saliva secretion and this should be considered before going for treatment plan. Side effects of Drugs on Salivary Glands is being discussed in this post.
Useful Information related to Salivary Glands:
- Drugs Causing Xerostomia or Dry mouth
- Amount of Saliva Produced by Major and Minor Salivary glands in One Day
Here we are going to List out the Drugs affecting the Salivary Glands in the following ways:
- Drugs causing Hyper Salivation or Sialorrhoea
- Drugs causing Salivary Gland Swelling
- Drugs causing Discoloration of Saliva
Drugs causing Hyper Salivation or Sialorrhoea:
Sialorrhea or Hypersalivation is a condition of the salivary glands where increase in the amount of salivation is seen. It can be caused due to many factors but here we are giving you the list of Drugs causing Hyper salivation or Sailorrhoea. All these drugs carry a dose-dependent risk of sialorrhoea and the physician should inform the patients or parent about the same before starting the treatment.
- Benzodiazepines
- Neuroleptics
- Cholinesterase inhibitors
- Pilocarpine
- Clonazepam
Drugs causing Salivary Gland Swelling:
Salivary Gland Swellings can be either Localized or Generalized and the need for a proper differential diagnosis is necessary as swelling of salivary glands can be due to any Tumors, Cancers etc of the salivary Gland after eliminating all the above we have to look into drugs causing the swelling.
- Bethanidine
- Antihypertensives
- Methyldopa
- Chlorhexidine
- Clonidine
- Cytotoxics
- Iodides
Drugs causing Discoloration of Saliva:
Discoloration of Saliva is seen in drugs out of which some affect all the body fluids like tears sweat etc and some some affect Feaces, Urine etc. So every Drug causing Saliva Discoloration affects some or the other fluid in the body. So depending on that we have to decide the treatment plan and assure the patient of the same. Here is the list of Drugs causing Discoloration of Saliva and the colors which they impart on it
- Rifampacin (red-orange discoloration of saliva)
- Doxorubicin (chemotherapeutic agent)
- Clofazimine (pink to brownish-black saliva)
- L-dopa (brownish discoloration of saliva)
- Rifabutin (brown or orange discoloration of saliva)
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