Taste disorders

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.

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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

General treatment – Treatment usually depends upon the cause and nature of the disease(s). Getting normalcy will be aimed mostly at removing the exciting or maintaining causes, i.e. by

• Correcting anaemia, allergies, dental problems, uric acid diathesis, etc.

• Treating mouth ulcers, infections (bacterial / viral / fungal), digestive or acid reflux disorders, etc.

• Changing or stopping newly added medicines (antibiotics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, pain-killers, etc.)

Commonly, if there is no serious illness, physicians will simply prescribe vitamin supplements and till taste recovers on its own (i.e., without providing any specific treatment).

Homeopathic approach on taste disorders – In all other system of medicines, the recovery of taste will come in the end i.e., after stopping the treatment process/medicines. Also, sometimes they need to leave the taste to come up on its own. Whereas while getting Homeopathy treatment, patients’ feelings and sensations get improved first. Well being sensations will always be the first improvement with successful treatment of Homeopathy. Homeopathy concentrates on each and every aspect of patient feelings and restores them to normal first (prior to setting right the disease). It works in all ways to raise immunity. For raising immunity/strengthen vitality, it enhances good intake of diet (by making the taste good). Thus here is another example to show Homeopathy is on the right track towards nature.

Some feel the distorted taste without any diseases or sufferings (with unknown or idiopathic causes) and some other suffers with incurable diseases. Here too, Homeopathy can succeed in correcting the taste with its individualisation treatment with characteristic symptoms of patient and disease with tongue indications and taste characters.

To spice up taste, Homeopathy can work amazingly. There are specific medicines for specific feelings of taste in Homeopathy, likewise for cravings and aversions too. They will act at the core of the disease and clear the tongue problems simultaneously.

For example:

• Diminished taste – Borax, Carboveg, Cyclamen, Puls, Veratrum alb,

• Complete loss of taste – Stramonium

• Abnormal taste of foods (or water) - sweetish – Cuprum met, Merc sol, Veratrum Alb, etc.

• Sweet metallic taste in mouth/tongue – Cocculus, Merc sol, etc.

• Salty taste in mouth/tongue – Cyclamen, Iodium, Merc sol, Nat mur, etc.

• Sour taste –Calc carb, China, Lycopodium, Nux vom, Rhus tox, Sulphur, etc.

• Bitter taste – Borax, Bryonia, Carbo veg, China, Lachesis, Nat mur, Pulsatilla, Rhus tox, Stramonium, Sulphur, etc.

• Soapy taste – Iodium

• Bloody taste – Bovista & Kreosote

• Coppery taste – Medorrhinum

• Taste remains in tongue for a long time after eating – Hydrastis

• Taste of rotten eggs – Cuprum met, Merc sol, Pulsatilla

• Oily/greasy taste in tongue/mouth – Causticum, Rhus tox, Secale cor

• Feeling numbness/tingling sensation in tongue – Aconite, Causticum, Coninum, Gelsemium, Nux vom, Nat mur, Secale cor, etc.

• Burning tongue – Apis, Ars alb, Arum triphyllum, Baptisia, Belladonna, Beri Beri vul, Capsicum, Causticum, etc.

• Sensation of hair in tongue – Kali bich, Alumina, Nat mur, etc.

• Frothy saliva in mouth – Stramonium

These medicines should be taken under the advice and diagnosis of a Qualified Homeopath.