When kissing, I often have too much saliva, which can often make for a messy situation. What can I do to solve this problem?

Y.

You are probably plagued by a conditioned reflex. Reflexes of this type were first systematically studied by Ivan Pavlov at the turn of the last century. Remember Pavlov's dog? Pavlov knew that when his dog was presented with a dish of food, the dog would salivate in anticipation of the meal. This response (salivation) following a stimulus (food) is an "unconditioned reflex." In other words, the dog did not learn to salivate in response to food; he's "hard-wired" that way.

Pavlov proceeded to teach his dog what would, in today's vernacular, be known as a Stupid Pet Trick. Whenever the dog was presented with a dish of food, a bell would ring. Soon, the dog learned to salivate in response to the bell, even when food was not presented. Pavlov called this learned response a "conditioned reflex."

If Pavlov repeated this devious trick too often, the dog would eventually learn that the bell is NOT associated with a meal, and he would stop salivating in response to the sound. This change in behavior is called extinction. If Pavlov occasionally gave the dog a dish of food when the bell sounded, then extinction would occur slowly or not at all -- depending upon how often the pup got fed.

Here's your problem: You are salivating in response to oral stimulation. If you could find some way of eating that did not involve oral stimulation, then perhaps your kissing/saliva reflex would extinguish. The cure is far worse than the disease. (For example, you could have a tube placed down your nose into your stomach and take all your meals in liquid form!) Furthermore, it is also possible that your kissing/saliva reflex is unconditioned. If so, even tube-feeding would not lead to extinction of the reflex.

Your problem is not solvable. Well ... it is solvable, but the solutions are unacceptable. Medications to decrease the flow of saliva would almost certainly have unpleasant side effects (potential side effects include drying of mucus membranes EVERYWHERE, blurry vision and urination problems). Surgical options are ridiculously over-aggressive, and I doubt you could find a willing surgeon.

My advice: Learn to like sloppy kisses. Sex is messy. Also, I suspect that your partner is not half as bothered by this as you are, and may even be flattered by it.