In addition to Taiwan, betel nut chewing is also prevalent in Hainan, Hunan and parts of Guangdong. Experts warn that eating betel nut is not good for health and should be controlled to eat the amount of betel nut.
People who have the habit of chewing betel nut should go to the hospital for examination to rule out the possibility of cancer if there are signs such as untreated ulcers in the mouth and white and dark spots on the oral mucosa.
Long-term chewing of betel nut can lead to fibrous changes in the oral mucosa, which not only causes hardening of the oral mucosa, affecting the normal oral function, but also a pre-cancerous state. Betel nut has a special flavor, and it is easy to produce excitement and a sense of relief after eating it, but betel nut contains a large number of betel nut and alkaloids.
The betel nut is cytotoxic, and the reaction between oral mucosa and betel nut alkaloids will lead to fibrosis of oral mucosa, which is clinically manifested as difficulty in opening the mouth, numbness, and ulcers, and may stimulate cancerous changes in the long run.
Cancer is only one of the most serious hazards of betel nut chewing. The lime in betel nut and betel nut juice in the long-term immersion in the oral cavity is prone to the formation of stones; betel nut roughness may also induce a variety of periodontal lesions.