What crawled into your mouth and died? Get a bad breath remedy now!

Occasionally, you may find that a friend, co-worker or loved one has halitosis, and not your average bad breath, either, but a really extreme case of oral odor. In this situation, it can be difficult to inform them that their mouth is offending your nasal passages, much less to suggest a bad breath remedy.

At the very least, it may be helpful to know what's floating on the air they exhale. Besides hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan, two common volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) found in bad breath, one of the most potent halitosis molecules is cadaverine.

If the name has a certain putrescent ring to it, it's for good reason. Cadaverine is so named because it is the compound that gives decaying meat its distinct odor. Believe it or not, a dirty mouth can emit large amounts of this VSC, even if no spoiled food has be eaten.

The best bad breath remedies target this and other VSCs, neutralizing them in seconds.

Studies have shown that the level of cadaverine in one's breath is a good indicator of just how pungent a case of halitosis is. For instance, a report published in the Journal of Dental Research explained that, among 52 test subjects, those with the highest measured levels of cadaverine were the most likely to offend the noses of a panel of olfactory judges.

Talk about an unenviable job, being a bad breath judge. Still, the findings were confirmed by a similar study, published in the Shanghai Journal of Stomatology. In both cases, researchers found that cadaverine seems to give halitosis an undesirable boost in strength.

To eliminate this pungent VSC, try using an alcohol-free specialty breath rinse, especially one that does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate, a compound that can irritate the gums and lead to canker sores.