There’s no icky sick feeling unlike having a cold or the flu. There are tons of ways you can care for your mouth while making yourself feel better too.

When you become sick, you need to take care of your entire body and that includes your mouth. It’s vital to maintain your dental hygiene every day but It’s especially important when you’re ill.

This is because of all the germs and bacteria in your mouth when you have a cold or the flu.

Wondering how to take extra good care of your dental health while you’re sick? Here are the best methods.

Be Sure To Keep Your Toothbrush Clean

When we’re ill, we automatically think about keeping ourselves warm and away from germs. But to maintain good dental hygiene while we’re sick, we should also keep our toothbrushes clean.

What’s the point of cleaning our mouths if the instrument we’re using is unhygienic? Bacteria from flu and viruses can linger on moist surfaces for up to 3 days! Now that we have a pandemic on our hands, we definitely can’t risk that.

Store your toothbrush in a dry area to avoid bacteria spreading and never share your toothbrush if you’re sick.

Unless your cold or flu is severe or you’ve had your toothbrush for less than 3-4 months, there is no reason to dispose of it. Just ensure it is always clean, you’re the only person using it and you do not store it in a wet area.

Opt For Sugar-Free Cough Drops

We all know that sugar is the main instigator of cavities, so avoid sugar while you’re sick at all costs. Yes, even in your cough drops. Most cough drops contain sugar and sugar is detrimental to your dental hygiene.

So to combat this, ensure you read the label of the cough drops to find ones that don’t contain sugar. The more you use sugary cough drops, the higher your chances will be of getting cavities. Avoid this at all costs!

Rinse Your Mouth Out After Vomiting

After vomiting, there’s no greater desire than to brush your teeth and mouth, leaving a minty fresh feeling. Unfortunately, doing that is not good for your teeth.

Why is that? When you vomit, your stomach acid coats your teeth and brushing them too soon will just rub the stomach acid into your teeth.

That sounds like something we undoubtedly should avoid so instead, use water, watered-down mouthwash, or a concoction of water and 1 tsp. of baking soda to rinse your mouth. Baking soda will help remove the acid from your mouth, leaving it squeaky clean.

After doing this, you can give your teeth a brush half an hour later.

Drink Enough Water To Avoid A Dry Mouth

Although we need to drink water every day, drinking water when we’re sick is especially important. I’m sure you know that one of the best ways to help yourself when you’re sick is to keep your body hydrated by drinking lots of fluids.

But why is this so important? Well, there are many reasons and one of them is to prevent a dry mouth. Certain prescribed medications for colds and flu such as antihistamines and painkillers cause a dry mouth.

It won’t be a bad idea to ask your doctor if this may be a side-effect of your medication. A dry mouth also puts you at risk of cavities. The last thing you want to do is have to fork out unexpected funds for Dentist fees.

Avoid that altogether by simply drinking enough water. You can also suck on sugar-free lozenges, cough drops, or anything similar to encourage the flow of saliva in your mouth.

Be Mindful About The Fluids You Choose

We just discussed how essential fluids are when you sick. But it’s choosing the right fluids that matter. Steer clear from sugary drinks or caffeinated drinks as this isn’t good for your dental hygiene or your sickness.

The safest and best options are water and hot beverages such as tea. It’s a great idea to not use any sugar in your drinks or lemon, as lemon is acidic. Even where you’re not sick, leaving sugar out of your drinks as often as possible will decrease your risk of cavities.