Case Study 1

Halitosis is commonly known as bad breath. It is often caused by poor dental hygiene, disorder in sinuses, digestion. The patient in this case study was diagnosed to have a small pouch in his throat, which was a culprit for his breath odor.  

A 47 year old businessman took a small surgery to remove a small pharyngeal pouch to cure halitosis, after undergoing many tests, and medications. The patient was diagnosed to have a severe bad breath. He was first recommended to dentists, and try out OTC medications, but it was not successful. The businessman had a good health condition, and claimed that he did not smoke, and drank little. His tests of sinus, and oral cavity turned out to be normal. However, another test showed that there was a small pharyngeal pouch in lower pharynx. This pouch is caused by the weakness of the muscles in the throats. The problem is common among men than women. As a result, it traps and store food, and hence produces unpleasant odor. After undergoing the pouch removal, his problem was cured.

The recommended solution was successful and proved to cure bad breath. However, it is even hard for specialists to diagnose, as the man had been visiting different specialists. The problem of bad breath in this story is beyond personal hygiene, which we normally accuse for. In fact, it is a disease that one may not be able to control. Although the recommended solution above succeeded, people might be reluctant to opt for surgery.