Humaira Iram, Muhammad Sikandar Ghayas Khan, Madiha Maqsud.
Effectiveness of non-invasive interventions in controlling drooling.
J Riphah Coll Rehab Sci Jan ;02(01):03-7.

Background: Excessive loss of saliva from mouth is commonly encountered in pediatric and adult population both by physical and speech therapists and other medical practitioners. Drooling is considered abnormal after 3 years of age. Salivation is caused by neurological, developmental and glandular dysfunction. Drooling greatly affects personal life, social interaction, hygiene of the person and makes them prone to different infections. It is managed using multiple approaches such as invasive and non-invasive. Currently there is insufficient evidence to support which non-invasive treatment approach is effective to deal patients with drooling. Objective: To identify the most effective non-invasive intervention for drooling control in cerebral palsied children. Methodology: Interventional study design. Data was collected from Pakistan Society for the Rehabilitation of Disabled (PSRD) in 2 months before and after intervention on the cerebral palsied children. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from cerebral palsied children age 4-10 years using Thomas-Stonell & Greenberg scale for measuring frequency and severity of drooling. The data was analyzed using SPSS 17. In 5 children, oral motor therapy alone was intervened and in 5 children behavioral therapy and in 5 children combination of both therapies was applied. Therapy was given 4 days /week, each session of 30 minutes duration for 2 months. Results: The results of present study illustrate that oral motor therapy was more efficient than behavioral therapy to decrease the frequency of drooling in cerebral palsied (CP) children. Drooling caused skin irritation in 33.3% of children and slight embarrassment in 53.3% children. Conclusion: Oro motor therapy takes the lead in the management of sialorrhea then other non-invasive therapies. Drooling is major problem encountered by cerebral palsied children causing problems of skin and psychological issues side by side. In the initial stages, trial of non-invasive techniques should be given to manage sialorrhea as evident from the results that these therapeutic techniques are effective in decreasing the incidence of drooling. Drooling, Cerebral palsy, Oral-Motor Therapy, Behavior Therapy

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