My husband is OCD after his stroke. He plays in the trash can by his chair or tries to get to the trashcan if I move it. He does this the same way over and over again. Finally, I asked his doc if he could have something very mild to curb the behavior. It took a couple of trial and errors on which med worked. But we did find one, now no playing in the trash can even if it is by his chair. Good luck.
Is she a swallow risk? If not, find a candy or vitamin C supplement she can suck on....this will relieve this.
you can imagine how madding it must be to have a hair in your mouth...even if it is just imaginary, it would still drive anyone nuts....nuts enough to have their fingers in there trying to grab it. We all have had that happen.
Please do not be offended at my idea but it did work for me. If she can drink without a problem add some food coloring a couple of drops any color or her favorite color to some water and Tell her it’s the medical remedy that has worked for other seniors and that it dissolved oral strings overnight.
Dad insisted I drive him to work, because they were in an outage..He would get anxious being told he retired from the electric company years ago..I discovered, if I had my brother & husband call, say the outage was canceled, he was ready to be driven home..🙂
She is having sensory changes in her mouth. Try to get her to drink plenty of fluids, suck on hard candy, and chew gum - as long as she has intact swallow and no trouble eating. Otherwise, lemon-flavored glycerin swabs may help. Keeping her mind occupied and engaged in activities may decrease the attention to these changes.
So glad to see these answers. My 90 year old mom in AL does the same. She does use a toothpick then wipes it on her recliner. I put a clean linen napkin on that chair twice a week now to protect the chair, and replace the dirty toothpicks with clean ones (naturally in the exact spot). If mom were her old self she would be mortified by this. Just have to love her with these sometimes gross behaviors.
There might be several reasons. If she is using a toothpaste with Peroxide that can remove layers of skin from inside the mouth. A toothpaste with fluoride can be harsh. If she is using either I would switch to a toothpaste made for children or a "natural" toothpaste. It might be bits of food left in her mouth. Drinking more fluids, water would be best. That would help flush the mouth. If her fluids are thickened keep plenty on hand. And thickened liquids might be a cause. I would thicken up fluid for my Husband and once in a while there would be a clump left undissolved if that was not removed and he got it in his mouth it might seem to be a slimy stringy bit.
Try to keep mom's hands and nails clean. but this should not be a major stressor in your life or hers. You do not say if mom is at home or in a facility. I would be less concerned if she is at home since you can more easily control her environment, if she is in a facility it is more difficult to control what she is doing and how well her hygiene is taken care of.
Thinking/believing there are strings in her mouth falls under the category of hallucinations for a person suffering dementia/Alzheimer's. There are medications available to relive your mom's distress with this matter, so do speak to her doctor about it. In the meantime, check out this useful link on the subject:
Does she say what sort of strings? Like hair, or cotton, or ... string?
Any mouth ulcers, new bumps, anything stuck between her teeth? There's nothing wrong with getting a good torch and (with her permission, and minding not to shine it in her eyes by mistake) having a look.
I wonder if rinsing and spitting might help her explain what sensation she's feeling, if it's still there after she's spat. You could make her up a very weak mouthwash and boiled, cooled water solution for the purpose.
I suppose it could be a misfiring brain signal, but I'd have thought it more likely there is *something*. Just not something significant in the view of a doctor or dentist, i.e. not sinister or needing treatment.
If the worst comes to the worst and the habit goes on, you'll just have to wash her hands more frequently and look the other way in between.
My mom chews gum all day long. She says it stops heartburn, and maybe that's true---but she'll offer me a piece and I just..can't. Her hands are not the cleanest and while I don't fear she has the Coronovirus, I just don't know where those hands have been.
BTW, I NEVER saw her chew gum before the last year or so...she said a woman chewing gum looked like a cow chewing its cud.
Better than having her fingers in her mouth all day!
Perhaps it is a reversal to childhood/babyhood when we DID have our fingers in our mouths all the time.
I think CM, maybe on to something! Midkid too! Take a look in her mouth. Maybe dry mouth? There is gum and spray available for dry mouth. Even as a placebo, maybe try gum or spray and tell her it's the cure. "Therapeutic fibbing " sometimes works! God bless and best wishes!
you can imagine how madding it must be to have a hair in your mouth...even if it is just imaginary, it would still drive anyone nuts....nuts enough to have their fingers in there trying to grab it. We all have had that happen.
Dad insisted I drive him to work, because they were in an outage..He would get anxious being told he retired from the electric company years ago..I discovered, if I had my brother & husband call, say the outage was canceled, he was ready to be driven home..🙂
Praying the colored water works🙏🏻👍
If she is using a toothpaste with Peroxide that can remove layers of skin from inside the mouth.
A toothpaste with fluoride can be harsh.
If she is using either I would switch to a toothpaste made for children or a "natural" toothpaste.
It might be bits of food left in her mouth. Drinking more fluids, water would be best. That would help flush the mouth.
If her fluids are thickened keep plenty on hand. And thickened liquids might be a cause. I would thicken up fluid for my Husband and once in a while there would be a clump left undissolved if that was not removed and he got it in his mouth it might seem to be a slimy stringy bit.
Try to keep mom's hands and nails clean.
but this should not be a major stressor in your life or hers.
You do not say if mom is at home or in a facility.
I would be less concerned if she is at home since you can more easily control her environment, if she is in a facility it is more difficult to control what she is doing and how well her hygiene is taken care of.
https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/stages-behaviors/hallucinations
Good luck!
Any mouth ulcers, new bumps, anything stuck between her teeth? There's nothing wrong with getting a good torch and (with her permission, and minding not to shine it in her eyes by mistake) having a look.
I wonder if rinsing and spitting might help her explain what sensation she's feeling, if it's still there after she's spat. You could make her up a very weak mouthwash and boiled, cooled water solution for the purpose.
I suppose it could be a misfiring brain signal, but I'd have thought it more likely there is *something*. Just not something significant in the view of a doctor or dentist, i.e. not sinister or needing treatment.
If the worst comes to the worst and the habit goes on, you'll just have to wash her hands more frequently and look the other way in between.
BTW, I NEVER saw her chew gum before the last year or so...she said a woman chewing gum looked like a cow chewing its cud.
Better than having her fingers in her mouth all day!
Perhaps it is a reversal to childhood/babyhood when we DID have our fingers in our mouths all the time.
Take a look in her mouth.
Maybe dry mouth?
There is gum and spray available for dry mouth.
Even as a placebo, maybe try gum or spray and tell her it's the cure.
"Therapeutic fibbing " sometimes works!
God bless and best wishes!