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How Does Cold Affect The Sense Of Taste?
Hi doc I want to ask Why do food taste bitter when Im sick,I think im having a cold and I cant enjoy eating anything now, my appetites gone down and sometimes I cant taste anything, Does a cold affect your taste in any way or is it because of the medicine and is there a way of restoring my taste and appetite
Fri, 25 Apr 2014
Hello,
Welcome HCM,
Yes cold affects taste in cold.The flavor of a food is actually the perception of both the taste and the smell. Our tongue can only taste sweet, salty, sour, or bitter.The sense of smell is actually responsible for about 75 percent of what is typically thought of as the sense of taste.
Problems with taste are often caused by either problems with your sense of smell or problems in the way the brain interprets the smell of the food. A cold often causes a stuffy nose and congestion which can take away your sense of smell leaving you with only the basic four tastes from your tongue.
When you have a cold your nasal passages become inflamed and produce excess mucus that can make you feel stuffed up.
-Keeping your nasal passages and sinuses moist can help decrease congestion.
- Using a humidifier, taking long showers, drinking lots of fluids, or using a saline nasal spray can all help to ease congestion.
Hope this will help.
Regards
Dr. Shuchi Nagori
Welcome HCM,
Yes cold affects taste in cold.The flavor of a food is actually the perception of both the taste and the smell. Our tongue can only taste sweet, salty, sour, or bitter.The sense of smell is actually responsible for about 75 percent of what is typically thought of as the sense of taste.
Problems with taste are often caused by either problems with your sense of smell or problems in the way the brain interprets the smell of the food. A cold often causes a stuffy nose and congestion which can take away your sense of smell leaving you with only the basic four tastes from your tongue.
When you have a cold your nasal passages become inflamed and produce excess mucus that can make you feel stuffed up.
-Keeping your nasal passages and sinuses moist can help decrease congestion.
- Using a humidifier, taking long showers, drinking lots of fluids, or using a saline nasal spray can all help to ease congestion.
Hope this will help.
Regards
Dr. Shuchi Nagori
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