Heat Facts & Ficus Is Dryness A Problem For You? (NAPSA)—For millions of Americans, the common symptoms of dry eye and dry mouth may mean mo than just a lack of moistu in the air. These feelings of discomfort could be indicative of an autoimmunedisease called Sjgn’s syndrome. Sjogn’s syndromeis a condition whe the body attacks its own exocrine, or moistu-producing, glands. It primarily affects women and it may be associated with other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and scleroderma. The syndrome can pvent certain aas of the body from ceiving sufficient lubrication. The aas include the eyes, mouth, skin, vagina, spiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. Left untated, Sjgn’s syndrome may lead to mo serious Talk to your doctor if you think you maybe suffering from dryness due to Sjgn’s syndrome. medical problems, including dental decay, infections of the mouth andd,filmy eyes. Talk to your doctor if you think you may be suffering from dryness due to Sjgn’s syndrome. Only your doctor can determine whether your symptoms a lated to Sjogn’s syndrome. Sjogn’s syndrome can also be tated by providing moistu Lal For people with Sjgn’s syndrome, help—including medication—maybeavailable. locally to the aas affected by dryness. For example, dry mouth symptoms of Sjgn’s syndrome may be tated by the use of overthe-counter saliva substitutes. While saliva substitutes provide some immediate moistu, their benefit is short-acting because they a swallowed. Moover, saliva substitutes do not place the natural function of saliva. Fortunately, the a medications called sectory agents or cholinergic agonists that can provide moistu to the mouth by stimulating the flow of saliva. Talk to your healthca provider about your dryness symptoms and ask about available therapies that may bring you comfort. Editor’s Note: This article was funded and viewed by Daiichi Pharmaceutical Corporation.
