{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "kind": "condition",
  "id": "dry-mouth",
  "name": "Dry mouth (xerostomia)",
  "category": "chronic",
  "sources": "Egyptian drug register (data/egyptian-drugs.csv, 25,070 products): no oral pilocarpine or licensed saliva-stimulating medicine is marketed in Egypt · No dose - assessment step, no medicine given",
  "review_status": "reviewed",
  "verified_against": "Egyptian drug register (data/egyptian-drugs.csv, 25,070 products): no oral pilocarpine or licensed saliva-stimulating medicine is marketed in Egypt · No dose - assessment step, no medicine given · Dry mouth (xerostomia) - disease-level clinical article (dry-mouth-clinical.txt)",
  "verified_date": "2026-08",
  "treatments": [
    {
      "id": 617,
      "generic": "No drug therapy in primary care (Assess first)",
      "line": 1,
      "is_adjunct": false,
      "form": null,
      "strength_mg": null,
      "adult_dose": "Dry mouth is a side effect or a symptom, almost never a disease in itself. Read the drug list first - anticholinergics, tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines, diuretics and opioids are the usual culprits - then check for diabetes, dehydration, mouth-breathing, Sjogren's syndrome and previous head-and-neck radiotherapy. Frequent sips of water, sugar-free gum and fluoride toothpaste achieve more than anything available on prescription here.",
      "adult_duration": "Assess, then decide",
      "dose_source": "No dose - assessment step, no medicine given",
      "rationale": "No licensed saliva-stimulating medicine is marketed in Egypt - pilocarpine is registered only as eye drops and hair lotions - so a drug row here would promise something a Cairo pharmacy cannot dispense. The saliva substitutes that are sold (Artificial Saliva oral spray, around 8 EGP) are appliances rather than licensed medicines, carry no labelled dose, and are used as often as comfort requires.",
      "cautions": [
        "A dry mouth loses its protection against decay. Dental review, fluoride toothpaste and not sipping sugary drinks all day matter more here than any medicine.",
        "Dry mouth with dry eyes, or with joint pain or parotid swelling, suggests Sjogren's syndrome - check anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies and refer.",
        "Oral pilocarpine, the drug used for this elsewhere, is not marketed in Egypt in any oral form. Do not write for it expecting it to be dispensed.",
        "If a causative drug can be stopped, reduced or swapped, that single change usually does more than everything else combined.",
        "Persistent dry mouth with oral thrush is common - the saliva that normally keeps candida in check is gone. Treat the thrush and the dryness separately.",
        "RED FLAG - Complications include oral candidiasis, periodontitis, accelerated dental caries, and impaired oral intake leading to poor nutrition."
      ],
      "peds_mgkg_low": null,
      "peds_mgkg_high": null,
      "peds_max_mg": null,
      "peds_basis": null,
      "peds_unit": null,
      "peds_note": "Same approach in a child: mouth-breathing, dehydration and medication are the usual causes. A persistently dry mouth in a child is not normal and is worth a cause being found.",
      "peds_min_weight_kg": null,
      "peds_max_weight_kg": null,
      "peds_age_min_months": null,
      "peds_age_max_months": null,
      "peds_age_bands": null,
      "peds_doses": null,
      "brands": [],
      "condition_id": "dry-mouth"
    }
  ]
}