Drooling what it is and how to stop it
Speech therapist here.
Drooling in Parkinson's is one of the most misunderstood symptoms I see.
Most people assume the body is making too much saliva. It's not. Research shows saliva production in Parkinson's is the same or even reduced.
So why the drooling?
Think of a sink. The faucet is fine. The drain is the problem.
Your body clears saliva by swallowing automatically throughout the day. You don't think about it. It just happens.
In Parkinson's, that automatic swallow fires less often. Saliva pools. Then it spills.
The drooling isn't a production problem. It's a clearance problem.
That's why so many treatments miss. Medications and injections turn down the faucet. They don't fix the drain. And a dry mouth comes with its own problems.
Here's one thing you can do today.
Most people wipe first and move on. Reverse it. Every time you reach for the tissue, swallow first. Then wipe.
The wipe becomes your reminder. You're using a habit you already have to trigger the swallow that's not firing on its own.
One small change. Try it for a week and see what you notice.
I write more about Parkinson's speech and swallowing at everydayslp.org if you want to go deeper.