How to Manage a Sweet Taste in the Mouth?
A sweet taste in the mouth may be caused by accumulated heat in the spleen and stomach, damp-heat in the spleen and stomach, or a deficiency of both qi and yin. Medications such as Xiehuang Powder or Dahuang Huanglian Xiexin Decoction, Pingwei Powder or Sanren Decoction, Buzhong Yiqi Decoction or Qiwei Baishu Powder can be used for conditioning based on the syndrome type.
Accumulated heat in the spleen and stomach often manifests as a sweet taste in the mouth, dry mouth with a desire to drink, increased appetite with easy hunger, or sores on the lips and tongue, dry and hard stool, yellow urine, red and dry tongue with yellow and dry fur, and strong and rapid pulse. The treatment for this syndrome should aim to clear heat and purge fire. For mild cases, Xiehuang Powder can be used. For cases with concurrent fullness in the abdomen, modified Dahuang Huanglian Xiexin Decoction can be prescribed.
Patients with damp-heat in the spleen and stomach may experience a bland and sweet taste in the mouth, poor appetite with little food intake, fullness and discomfort in the chest and epigastrium, sticky sensation in the mouth, fatigue and heaviness in the limbs, sticky and unformed stool, red tongue with yellow and greasy fur, and slippery and rapid pulse. The treatment for this syndrome should aim to clear and resolve damp-heat. Depending on the condition, Pingwei Powder, Sanren Decoction, or Ganlu Xiaodu Dan can be selected for treatment.
Patients with a deficiency of both qi and yin mainly manifest as a sweet taste in the mouth, lack of appetite, dry mouth with little desire to drink, fatigue and weakness, distension in the epigastrium and abdomen, irregular stool, dry and slightly red tongue with little fur, and thin and weak pulse. The treatment for this syndrome should aim to invigorate qi, strengthen the spleen, harmonize the stomach, and nourish yin. Buzhong Yiqi Decoction can be modified by removing Shengma and Chaihu and adding Lanxiang-stewed Gegen. Alternatively, Qiwei Baishu Powder can be combined with Yam, Dendrobium, and Lotus Seed for treatment.
