Taste - impaired

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Loss of taste; Metallic taste; Dysgeusia

Follow prescribed therapy, which may include a change or changes to the diet. For taste problems due to the common cold or flu, normal taste should return when the illness passes. For smokers, stop smoking.

Make an appointment with your doctor if your taste problems do not go away, or if abnormal tastes occur with other symptoms.

The doctor will perform a physical examination and ask questions, including:

• Do all foods and drinks taste the same?
• Do you smoke?
• Does this change in taste affect the ability to eat normally?
• Have you noticed any problems with your sense of smell?
• Have you recently changed toothpaste or mouthwash?
• How long has the taste problem lasted?
• Have you been sick or injured recently?
• What medicines do you take?
• What other symptoms do you have? (For example, appetite loss or breathing problems?)
• When is the last time you went to the dentist?

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If the taste problem is due to allergies or sinusitis, the doctor may give you medicine to relieve the stuffy nose. If a medicine you are taking is to blame, your doctor may recommend that you change your dose or switch to a different drug.

A CT scan may be done to look at the sinuses or the part of the brain that controls the sense of smell.

Review Date: 03/05/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine; and Seth Schwartz, MD, MPH, Otolaryngologist, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).