The delight of food always remains with taste. Taste is also linked to our mind and appetite. Favourites, cravings and aversion to foods are all related to the word ‘taste’. Taste reacts with the need of the body and can improve appetite. Each and everyone has their own favourite taste and prefers it repeatedly with desire. Changes in taste can make changes in life/health status (vice versa).

Taste disorders can arise in anyone, any time. It may arise as a simple alteration in taste or with diminished taste or with inability to identify the specific taste. It can vary from minor changes for a particular item to complete loss of taste to all items. When regularly preferred tasty food tastes so bad, one should take care of health status since it can be an alarming symptom of the start-up of a disease.

Taste disorders - Taste disorders are classified as:

• Ageusia – Absence of taste (complete loss of taste buds/nerve functions)
• Dysgeusia – inappropriate / inaccurate taste (malfunctions of nerves)
• Hypogeusia - diminished taste sense (partial loss of taste buds/nerve functions)
• Parageusia – irritating or unpleasant sense of taste

Incidences – Normally, the ability to identify a specific taste seems to be more with females than with males in all ages. The acuity of taste will be more between 20 – 50 years. After that period taste identifying ability will have a downfall irrespective of sex along with the smelling ability. In case of diseases, taste disorders can pop up any time (in start-up or in the middle of the course or in the end) and may persist for the time being or be life-long according to availing treatment.

Causes – Normally, taste may differ (lowered or altered) with age, dentures, poor oral hygience, tongue coating and lack of proper brushing. Habits of smoking, drinking, tobacco chewing, drug cocktails, strong toothpaste, etc., can also alter taste. Correcting these can just relieve the complaints. In case of diseases causes may be as:

• Diseases - Taste disorders can arise in upper respiratory tract infection, allergic rhinitis, nasal polyp, sinusitis, post- nasal drip, viral flu, stomatitis, liver disorders, gastric disorders, nerve leisons and hormonal disorders, psychological disorders (may be a hallucination), brain dysfunctions following head injury, saliva dysfunctions/dry mouth, etc.
• Drugs, treatments like chemotherpy, radiation therapy, etc.
• Finally, it can arise without any reason too (idiopathic).

Symptoms – Taste disorders are often temporary. Alteration in taste varies depending upon the disease, period of suffering, treatment and drugs. For example:

• In gout - uric acid diathesis/metabolism – salty taste
• In infection (bacterial) – metallic taste
• In fever (viral flu) – bitter taste
• In gastritis/heartburn – sour taste
• In toxicity – metallic taste
• Diagnosis – Generally, taste disorders need to be analysed with
• Personal history - habits of smoking, alcohol, tobacco chewing, depending medicines, etc.
• Ruling out of smell disorders/olfactory dysfunctions (since loss of smell occurring due to upper respiratory tract infection can also mask or alter taste)
• Blood test to rule out infection, anaemia, malnutrition, diabetes, high cholestrol, urea, uric acid, etc.
• CT or MRI scan to rule out sinus or brain involvements
• Biopsy to rule out cancer or other disorders (necessarily in mouth ulcers/leukoplakia)
• Finally, with taste function test – Even though spatial test can analyse the taste variation, it cannot be tested easily as done for other special senses (vision or hearing). Also, there is no scale for intensity or concentration of taste. In addition, complicated design of taste testing will not provide accurate results.

Complication

• Disgust for food/life
• Malnutrition
• Depression

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