dear sheldon my jack had a similar problem and the doctors couldn't give him any relief so i looked in my home medical books and also found nothing on it. after thinking of problem i figured it seemed similar to a child with croup and have treated it as same. i got a steam vaporizer [the cold water water type did not help] and run it overnight , also have a facial steamer that he uses if he feels chocked up in morning before breakfast. this has helped him. another item that you can get artificial saliva also -- biotene mouth wash and toothpaste will help to keep mouth moist. check with your druggist. connie