Excessive saliva with Prednisone

[jland25]

My newly diagnosed son has been on 40 mg of Prednisone for one week. For the past day or so he keeps saying he feels like he has too much saliva in his mouth and reports that he is having a hard time swallowing. I don't see that he is actually having difficulty swallowing and there are no signs of an allergic reaction. He is not nauseous, either, and has not been diagnosed with GERD. The gastroenterologist doesn't think it has anything to do with the Prednisone.

I will likely take him to his general pediatrician tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyone had seen anything like this in their child on Prednisone. I'm new to all this and admittedly anxious about what is/isn't/might be going on.

Thanks!

 

[SupportiveMom]

Hi jland. Where does your son have his crohns? My daughter has it in both small & large intestines & esophagus. We think because of the esophagus inflammation is why she has a lot of mucus. She has to spit often. She had this before diagnosis so I don't think it has much to do with prednisone for her. Hopefully others can offer their experiences too.

 

[jland25]

He has Crohn's in his ileum and colon, so I don't think it's that. Very puzzling. I am taking him to the pediatrician today. Hopefully, I'll get some answers there. My son is so tired of doctors already!

Thanks!

 

[SupportiveMom]

I wish i could say doctors visits get better from here on it... since diagnosis at our initial GI doctor we have now added 2 more doctors we see biyearly. That doesn't even count the hospital docs. You get a pattern to this and it becomes manageable. Group family calendars with Google definitely make my life easier.

 

[willsmom]

Hi Jland,

My son also has alot of saliva, especially in the morning. Around the time of diagnosis, he also had trouble swallowing although he had numerous ulcers in his mouth and esophagus. He has been on Prevacid since, which seems to control it somewhat. Acid reflux can cause excess saliva and trouble swallowing.