3.5 year old still drools a ton

[Anonymous]

My 3.5 year old DS still drools a ton. It is like a constant flow of drool. He always has a rash on his chin (and sometimes cheeks), and it gets quite raw if I don't apply cicaplast cream twice a day.

We recently started him using the take and toss straw cups because a PT once told us that using a straw could help. Reminders don't seem to help, though he will wipe his chin.

Anything else we should try? I thought he would just grow out of it but clearly that isn't happening. And mask wearing is making it worse, because it gets soaked in 10 mins. He'll be starting school in the fall and I worry about his drool since I assume masks will still be required.

He's a wonderful little guy but he needs some help!

[Anonymous]

Over active saliva glands.

[Anonymous]

See a speech therapist for an evaluation.

[Anonymous]

That's unusual. I'd chat with your pediatrician or dentist.

[Anonymous]

How is his overall development?
Is his speech intelligible?
Sounds like low muscle tone, did he hit his motor milestones on time? You mentioned a pt.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies!

He just saw the dentist last month and they said everything looked great. He was at pediatrician 6 months ago and same report.

He saw a PT when he was 18 months-2 years because of a gross motor delay, but he is all caught up now. (He literally took his first steps at 18 months.)

I think his speech is intelligible most of the time, but I'm not an expert on this so it is hard for me to judge.

The low muscle tone sounds like it could be right. I'll ask pediatrician for recommendation for either speech therapist or ENT?

If anyone has successfully conquered drooling and have tips in the meantime, please share so we can start immediately.

[Anonymous]

My slightly low tone kid drooled until about 3. She was in speech and we worked on it actively - I’d suggest a few sessions with a therapist.

Some things we did that helped:

Thick drinks like a smoothie, with a straw (twisty straw even better!)
Whistles, recorders etc. anything they can practice blowing to make music
Sour foods things that prompt a pucker
Blowing bubbles

[Anonymous]

Is he keeping his mouth closed or just open most of the time?

[Anonymous]

I would have him seen by an OT. This is a fine motor issue.

[Anonymous]

My DS did this until about 4.5. We had him evaluated and no cause. We taught him to wipe his chin on his sleeve because nothing else worked to keep him dry. It finally went away around 4 and a half.

[Anonymous]

Could be low tone, as someone above me mentioned

[Anonymous]

Thanks again for all of the responses! I truly appreciate it.

He was evaluated at 18 months (so 2 years ago) and only issue was gross motor delay, no fine motor issues. But it is possible that the drooling is so normal at 18 months that a flag wasn't raised.

I'll do as was suggested and get him reevaluated by OT or speech therapist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My slightly low tone kid drooled until about 3. She was in speech and we worked on it actively - I’d suggest a few sessions with a therapist.

Some things we did that helped:

Thick drinks like a smoothie, with a straw (twisty straw even better!)
Whistles, recorders etc. anything they can practice blowing to make music
Sour foods things that prompt a pucker
Blowing bubbles

Thank you! This is so helpful. We will start working on these techniques tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is he keeping his mouth closed or just open most of the time?

He definitely does both, but it is open when the drool pours out!

[Anonymous]

I have an older child with this problem. You need to determine if this is a problem of saliva production or saliva management. Use bandannas to catch the excess and look for a speech therapist who is also a certified oromyofacial therapist aka a COM therapist for an evaluation. There is a directory on the association website.