Why a Panic Attack Can Cause a Dry Mouth—and What To Do

People with panic disorder have regular panic attacks, or short periods of anxiety and fear. A panic attack can cause physical symptoms, such as a dry mouth, chest pain, and dizziness.

Dry mouth, medically known as xerostomia, usually develops as a result of the stress response. The body releases hormones that spike blood sugar and heart rate, which help your body attack or flee from a threat. This response suppresses other functions, including salivation.

Everyone's panic attacks are different, but they're usually treatable. Here's why a panic attack can cause a dry mouth, as well as tips and techniques to help weather the storm.

Why Does a Panic Attack Cause a Dry Mouth?

If you have a panic attack, you may develop a dry mouth. This symptom can be a side effect of the body's stress response and other factors.

Anti-Anxiety Medications

Some people who have frequent panic attacks may take anti-anxiety medications, such as antidepressants, to manage symptoms. Dry mouth can be a side effect of these medications.

GERD

Dry mouth is a symptom of gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD). GERD is common in people with an anxiety disorder. This condition causes stomach acid to flow backward into the esophagus. The esophagus is a tube that connects the throat to the stomach.

Mouth-Breathing

You might breathe through your mouth or hyperventilate if you're having a panic attack. Taking short, rapid breaths of air through the mouth can dry it out.

Stress Response

The body's stress response, or "fight-or-flight" response, causes a panic attack. Hormones are released into the bloodstream, which primes your body to take action against a perceived threat. You might have a spike in blood sugar or heart rate. These changes give you the energy to attack or run from this threat.

These changes can cause your body to neglect other functions, such as salivation. A lack of saliva can cause a dry mouth.

Other Panic Attack Symptoms

A panic attack may cause several physical and emotional symptoms in addition to a dry mouth. These panic attack symptoms include:

• Chest pain 
• Dizziness 
• Fear of dying or impending doom 
• Feeling like you're choking or short of breath
• Feelings of detachment from reality
• Heart palpitations
• Nausea
• Numbness or tingling 
• Sweating or hot flashes
• Trembling

How To Stop a Panic Attack

You can typically treat a panic attack at home using grounding and relaxation techniques. You may notice that symptoms like a dry mouth go away when you stop a panic attack.

Accentuate the Positive

People with panic attacks learn to counter negative self-talk with positive coping statements in therapy. Keeping a journal can be an important tool for helping you identify when you're feeling anxious. 

Try recording positive statements that can be mentally repeated during a panic attack. You might think, "This doesn't feel comfortable, but I can accept it. I can ride through this. I don't need it to get to me."

Control Your Breathing

When you're in a panic, you tend to take rapid, shallow breaths, which can make you lightheaded. Breathing is the one symptom you want to control during a panic attack. Slow abdominal breathing can offset these feelings of dizziness.

Try inhaling to the count of five and exhaling to the count of 10. Practice ahead of time by lying down and placing a magazine on your stomach. If you're breathing from your belly rather than your chest, you'll see the magazine rise and fall.

Count Backward

If you feel you can't bear to engage in small talk with others, at least give your panicked mind an opportunity to change the subject. Greta Hirsch, PhD, clinical director of the Ross Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, suggested counting backward from 100 by threes. This requires some focus and helps shift your internal conversation away from the uncomfortable "what if" questions, like, "What if I embarrass myself?"

Dive Into Your Symptoms

Your instinct may be to squash your panic attack when you're reeling and worried you'll lose control. Give your body permission to react to your symptoms without needing to shut down or run away.

Consider this metaphor: You're in the ocean, and there's a huge wave coming at you. This wave represents a panic attack. What happens if you try to put your hand out to stop that wave? It's going to knock you over. The wave brings you a little bit closer to shore if you dive into it.

Most panic attacks reach their peak in just 10 minutes or less. They usually begin to subside after this time.

Drink Water

It can feel like you have a lump in your throat or you can't catch your breath when you're having a panic attack. Some people get a metallic taste in their mouth or a dry mouth when they're anxious.

This funky taste may be due to the brain chemicals released in an adrenaline rush. A cool sip of water may help to alleviate your symptoms and lubricate your mouth.

Stay Connected to Your Environment

You may feel lightheaded, but this doesn't mean you're going to pass out. The best way to prove that to yourself is to perform this little visual experiment: Focus on a face or a picture in the room. Hirsch said to ask yourself, "Am I seeing this the way a dizzy person would see it?" The answer, most likely, will be no.

Remind Yourself What Negative Thoughts Actually Are

You've arrived at a party. Your heart is suddenly beating out of your chest, and you're short of breath. All you can think is, "What if I need to go to the emergency room?"

Begin altering their internal dialogue to ease the "fear factor" of physical symptoms. What you're experiencing is just an adrenaline rush, or your body's fight-or-flight response, not an emergent threat to your health.

Strike Up a Conversation

Help may be as simple as getting chatty with another person, even if you feel like you can't breathe. If you're speaking with someone, it means you're breathing. Engaging in conversation also forces your mind to be present in the moment, said Hirsch. That's much better than ruminating about whether you'll pass out, for example.

If you don't feel ready to approach someone, step out of the situation and call someone you trust. It will get you in the moment, breathing, and out of a triggering environment for a few minutes.

Use Calming Scents

Sniffing a calming scent may ease feelings of dread, as certain scents have calming effects. Keep an oil or perfume with your favorite scent—patchouli, lilac, whatever you prefer—on hand. Place a dab on your wrist and inhale if panic sets in.

A Quick Review

Having a panic attack can be a scary experience. When you're panicked, you might develop physical symptoms like a dry mouth. This happens because your body redirects its energy to help you attack or run from a perceived threat, called the "fight-or-flight" response. This stress response can suppress functions like salivation.

Tactics exist that can ease symptoms and help you through them. Try controlling your breathing, drinking water, and using calming scents. It's important to remember that you will get through it. Talk to a healthcare provider if you have a panic disorder or frequent panic attacks.