How Taste Sensitivity Affects The Lives Of Seniors

| Wednesday, September 7, 2011
By Yolanda Reyes


Taste is one of the senses we enjoy most in our lives, and even if our ability to taste can decline a bit with age, we should still be able to enjoy most foods. Taste sensitivity helps us enjoy our food and drink and helps us determine if food is good or bad for us.

Seniors who experience a serious problem with taste sensitivity may lose their appetite and become more withdrawn. They might become depressed and refuse to eat for the most part. If the problem gets this serious, the immune system may suffer and she may be more susceptible to diseases.

When the ability to taste is impaired, food may seem unimportant. And unfortunately, some people might end up eating too many wrong foods in the hope of being able to taste something, with the destructive result of gaining too much weight. Or, the opposite may occur and the person may forget to eat and lose so much weight that it becomes detrimental to her health.

Taste sensitivity may be caused from certain medications or the result of certain illnesses and infections. Dental problems such as gum disease can also cause loss of taste as can a serious head injury. Some other causes could include smoking, Bell's palsy, Sjogren's syndrome, and even something as simple as a deficiency of certain vitamins.

If you've had radiation therapy for cancer located near the head or neck, taste sensitivity may also occur. Certain diseases that attack the central nervous system such as Multiple Sclerosis, can also be one of the causes.

Chronic disorders such as dysgeusia sometimes happens in senior citizens and can also affect taste. Dysgeusia causes you to have a bad taste in your mouth that can affect the way you taste food. Antidepressants, cholesterol-fighting drugs, and blood pressure medications can all cause Dysgeusia.

Since taste and smell are so closely related, a loss of smell might cause taste sensitivity. You might be focusing on loss of taste sensitivity when the problem is instead loss of your sense of smell. Since loss of smell is much more common in the elderly than taste loss, you might want to consider that possibility.

If your regular diet is being affected by loss of taste, you might want to talk to your doctor to find out what your options are. You may be able to change medications that are having an impact on your tasting abilities or be treated for gum disease or any other factor causing the problem.

You'll want to prepare for the visit to your doctor by writing down your symptoms and answers to questions that she may ask, such as when did you first become aware of taste sensitivity issues, how has the change affected your eating habits and whether or not you've also experienced changes in smell.




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