Does anyone else have a child with "drippy lips"?

[Whisperlily]

My DS (almost 6) seems to have no sensation of moisture around his mouth. Sometimes he spits accidentally when talking. Drool, or food collects at the corners of his mouth and he never notices. Ice-cream drips down his chin, etc.

And now, despite having him wipe his mouth every time I turn around, he's getting a little yeasty in the corners of his mouth due to the antibiotics he's on. *sigh*

Tell me he'll outgrow it. None of my other kids are like this!

[Scarlett]

My ds has this problem. Or rather had. He just turned 8 and he is much better now. He would 'slurp' when reading aloud and it drove me crazy. However, he is so greatly improved that he recently did a 4 minute public reading and managed to swallow when necessary. :)

[beansprouts]

My 4 year old seems to drool all the time. I have been wondering about this also.

[Mama Bear]

Sometimes they grow out of it, sometimes not. In the interest of progress ('cause don't we all love that?) ;) I'd take him in, ask for a referral to a speech path and hear from him/her what solutions there are. There are MANY, most of them sound pretty simple. It can be a benign neuro thing, sensory, whatever. It might be a stand alone issue or indicative of something else. It's quite likely, from my observations of message boards for parents of kids with speech (oral) issues that something can be done, that it's no big deal if dealt with now.

(I know, you needed one more thing to do, didn't you? ;) )

Hugs.

[Ottakee]

Is he a mouth breather? It could be that his tonsils and/or adenoids are overly large and causing problems with breathing through his nose and/or swallowing.

[Scarlett]

Sometimes they grow out of it, sometimes not. In the interest of progress ('cause don't we all love that?) ;) I'd take him in, ask for a referral to a speech path and hear from him/her what solutions there are. There are MANY, most of them sound pretty simple. It can be a benign neuro thing, sensory, whatever. It might be a stand alone issue or indicative of something else. It's quite likely, from my observations of message boards for parents of kids with speech (oral) issues that something can be done, that it's no big deal if dealt with now.

In my ds's case, he literally was often so preoccupied with his task at hand that he could not remember to swallow his own saliva. He has never had a speech issue AT ALL and in fact has always been very verbal. But I guess it could be something more....wont' hurt to check it out.

[Whisperlily]

Is he a mouth breather? It could be that his tonsils and/or adenoids are overly large and causing problems with breathing through his nose and/or swallowing.

:blink: :eek:

Wow, how did I NOT think of this? My older DS had to have his adenoids removed, and docs/nurses have mentioned this DS's large tonsils...

He's also got a lot of food allergies and now the environmental allergies are starting to go crazy in our new climate. He's going to see an allergist in a few weeks, I'll make sure to ask him.

Thank you so much for mentioning this!!

[Ottakee]

Allergies can play a role in this as well. I would see an ENT or ask the allergist.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Does he have bottom teeth? I just noticed he's six, so I thought maybe he'd lost teeth that hadn't grown back in yet. Having a hole in his smile would definitely provide a path for the slobber to come out. My ds slobbered a lot when he was missing teeth.

[Whisperlily]

I've been thinking about your replies, and I do think tonsils/adenoids might be *part* of the issue, but he's been this way since infancy. I'm definitely mentioning it to the Dr. next visit.

He was a preemie, so maybe he never develped this reflex... or at least I could blame it on that if I wanted to, right? ;)

He still has his bottom teeth, but yikes, the problem might get worse when he loses them! :drool5:

[Ottakee]

Does he have any other fine motor delays, etc. from being a preemie? My other thought was a very mild CP (cerebral palsy). That is what causes the drooling for my 20ds. He had his tonsils and adenoids taken out which really helped and then started on medication for it and it is no longer a problem for him.

If the ENT doesn't have answers for you then you might see about a neurologist.