[JenC]

Josh has always been a drooly kid. Most of the time he has a line of saliva hanging down off his chin or the front of his shirt is soaked. His Dr didn't seem too concerned about it at his 2 yr appt (he's 26 mo), but said she'd check his adenoids at 3 if it was still a concern. I didn't catch how those two could be connected.

I've started paying attention and none of his 2 yr old friends are drooly. He's not delayed, has no oral/sensory issues, and there's nothing obviously an issue. It's starting to drive me crazy. Yesterday and today I made it a point to remind him to close his mouth and swallow instead of letting his saliva run out everywhere. He's a mouth breather though (forgot to throw that in the beginning) - could that be the issue?? He does ok drinking with straws, just tends to want to tip the glass with the straw up making a mess, so we don't use them much. He's good at regular cups.

Any ideas? Is this more normal than what I'm seeing?

[ScrapMonkey]

Is this a new thing? COuld it be those 2yo teeth coming in in the back??

[JenC]

no, it's nothing new. I keep trying to check for teeth, but can't really feel much back there (although I know that just because I can't feel them doesn't mean they're not moving around). It's just strange.

[jadajesse]

I have a 2 year old (actually she will be 3 in 2 weeks) and she drooled like crazy until just a few months ago. I also have a 1 year old and he never drools (even when he was miserable with 1 year molars coming in). I did compare her to others her age for a little while (I babysit a 2 year old and we go to church with 2 little ones that are almost the exact same age as my DD) and none of them drooled, but I think it is just like everything else with kids, they are all different.
The mouth breathing might be part of the problem though because my DD is a mouth breather and has slight childhood asthma so she has a lot of breathing issues. I wouldn't be too worried, because with my DD it just seemed to stop!

[Emster]

I think some kids are just "wetter" than others. My son wore a bib FOREVER between the drooling and the spitting up...long past when other children were done doing so, and he is 100% healthy, with no adenoid type problems.

[Stormster]

I have one too! He wears a bandit bib with every outfit and our speech therapist told me to get him these red chew sticks on a site I have to look up the name. Also coincidentally my sister told me yesterday she thinks he should have his adenoids checked so now I am curious!

Originally Posted by JenC

Josh has always been a drooly kid. Most of the time he has a line of saliva hanging down off his chin or the front of his shirt is soaked. His Dr didn't seem too concerned about it at his 2 yr appt (he's 26 mo), but said she'd check his adenoids at 3 if it was still a concern. I didn't catch how those two could be connected.

I've started paying attention and none of his 2 yr old friends are drooly. He's not delayed, has no oral/sensory issues, and there's nothing obviously an issue. It's starting to drive me crazy. Yesterday and today I made it a point to remind him to close his mouth and swallow instead of letting his saliva run out everywhere. He's a mouth breather though (forgot to throw that in the beginning) - could that be the issue?? He does ok drinking with straws, just tends to want to tip the glass with the straw up making a mess, so we don't use them much. He's good at regular cups.

Any ideas? Is this more normal than what I'm seeing?

[nee18]

No advice here, but just wanted to say I relate. Our DS is 1 and drools so much I'm surprised he doesn't dehydrate! It drives me crazy because he has all these cute shirts that are constantly soaked or hidden behind bibs. It doesn't seem to matter if he's getting teeth or not-he just drools all the time! His mouth is always open too (unless I'm trying to feed him a vegetable ). I'm curious about the adenoid thing though. I'd never heard that before. Good to know if things don't dry up in the next year. I don't want him to be the drooly kid in high school .

[Linny]

I've had a child with this as well. It made all the difference in the world when she had tubes placed in her ears. She didn't have a lot of ear infections, but the drooling was so bad we went through at least 6-10 little bibs each day---and you could literally wring them out ---it was THAT bad!

It was almost automatic once the tubes were inserted as her eustachian tubes weren't draining properly. The ENT made mention it was a pretty bad case of her ears being clogged up (as I understand, behind the eardrum). You might talk to the ENT and see what they say. In our case, it made a tremendous difference.

Sincerely,

Linny

[oceanica]

LOL nee!!
Keonte (my 4 monther) has to wear bibs all the time too and spits all over his cute shirts (within a few minutes of putting them on.) I was hoping it would stop after a while!

Jen, let us know what the doc says next time you take him in.

[Stormster]

This is very interesting ! Because ds also has chronic ear infections and nobody has suggested it might be related to his ears. However I have been sleeping next to him and he is very congested and he appears to have apnea and my sis is with us and she had already suspected his adenoids were swollen but she isn't sure about apnea and wants me to tape record him sleeping but it scares me! And just last night I really did hear something that sounded like he had stopped breathing and sort of choked for air. Wonder if all related to ear infections and adenoids!

Originally Posted by JenC

Josh has always been a drooly kid. Most of the time he has a line of saliva hanging down off his chin or the front of his shirt is soaked. His Dr didn't seem too concerned about it at his 2 yr appt (he's 26 mo), but said she'd check his adenoids at 3 if it was still a concern. I didn't catch how those two could be connected.

I've started paying attention and none of his 2 yr old friends are drooly. He's not delayed, has no oral/sensory issues, and there's nothing obviously an issue. It's starting to drive me crazy. Yesterday and today I made it a point to remind him to close his mouth and swallow instead of letting his saliva run out everywhere. He's a mouth breather though (forgot to throw that in the beginning) - could that be the issue?? He does ok drinking with straws, just tends to want to tip the glass with the straw up making a mess, so we don't use them much. He's good at regular cups.

Any ideas? Is this more normal than what I'm seeing?

[gangof4]

Hi, This is my first post to this forum...I have been a lurker.
But I just wanted to let you know that I have a DS who was a chronic drooler It was so uncontrollable for him. He would be talking and long strands of drool would come out of his mouth. I never put it together until reading all these posts but his drooling stopped after having his tubes put is and his adenoids and tonsils removed.

He also suffered from chronic ear infections and breathing issues. The surgeries have made a huge difference for him!

His behavior has improved as well because he is getting a full nights sleep now that he can actually breath

I think the reason that your dr wants to wait until he's older to check on his adenoids is because they don't fully develop until they are 4-5 yr.s old. My son has his removed when he was 5.

[Nevada Jen]

Jen, I would definately take him to an ENT. The mouth breathing and drooling screams adeniod issues. Not that any of it is particularly dangerous (so I can totally see why your doc wasn't concerned) but if you are going to have to do something when he is 3, why wait?

[angelkisses0102]

My DS had to have his tonsils and adenoids removed at age 30 months due to obstructive sleep apnea...which does not sound the same in children as it does in adults. If an infant or toddler snores...at all...a trip to the ENT is a good idea.

Also during the above surgery he had his second set of ear tubes put in. While his drooling slowed down quite a bit...not until we got his oral sensory issues under control did it stop completely...at age 4.

OP I wouldn't wait another 10 months to visit the ENT...if nothing else...it will ease you mind.

Good luck.