Taste Loss After Stroke: What's Happening?

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A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. This brain damage can affect a person's ability to taste and smell. This condition, known as dysgeusia, can cause food to taste weird, different, or bad. In some cases, people may experience a total loss of taste, known as ageusia. This can be extremely frustrating and upsetting, as enjoying food and drink is an important part of life, and our senses of taste and smell are closely connected to our feelings and memories. It can also lead to malnutrition and depression if not addressed.

Characteristics Values
Prevalence Up to a third of people who have had a stroke experience changes in their sense of taste or smell.
Cause A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. If a stroke damages the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell from the nose and tongue, it causes changes to your senses of taste and smell.
Onset Changes in taste can occur immediately after a stroke or months later.
Duration Changes in taste may improve over time.
Persistence Changes in taste can be permanent.
Taste changes Food may taste different, bad, or bitter. Flavours may be fewer or non-existent.
Smell changes Some people lose their sense of smell or become more sensitive to smells.
Appetite changes Changes in taste and smell can reduce appetite, leading to weight loss.
Dietary changes People may need to make dietary changes to maintain a healthy diet and reduce the risk of further strokes.
Treatment There is currently no treatment for taste changes after a stroke. However, a dietitian can provide advice on how to eat healthily and maintain proper nutrition. Good oral hygiene may also help.

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Loss of taste after a stroke is called ageusia

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, resulting in the death of brain cells. If a stroke damages the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell from the nose and tongue, it can lead to changes in one's senses of taste and smell. This condition, characterised by the inability to taste, is called ageusia.

Ageusia can be caused by lesions in various locations, including the pons, insular cortices, and specific thalamic nuclei. It is important to note that taste and smell are closely connected to our feelings and memories. This can be frustrating and upsetting for those affected, as enjoying food and drink is an important part of life.

Ageusia can have several impacts on an individual's life. It can reduce one's appetite, leading to unintentional weight loss or difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. It can also result in malnutrition and associated complications that may impede recovery and negatively affect quality of life. Additionally, it can lead to depressive symptoms, further hampering recovery.

There is currently no standard pharmacological treatment for ageusia. However, some substances, such as carbamazepine and THC (the active agent in cannabis), have been found to help in certain cases. Seeking professional advice from a doctor or dietitian is essential to address this condition and its potential consequences.

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Food may taste distorted, bitter or metallic, a condition known as dysgeusia

Food tasting distorted, bitter, or metallic is a condition known as dysgeusia. It is a distortion of the sense of taste, where everything seems sweet, sour, bitter, or metallic. It is often associated with ageusia, which is the complete lack of taste, and hypogeusia, which is a decrease in taste sensitivity.

Dysgeusia can be caused by various factors, including chemotherapy, asthma treatment with albuterol, zinc deficiency, liver disease, hypothyroidism, certain types of seizures, and drug use. It is also commonly caused by stroke, as it can damage the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell from the nose and tongue. This can lead to changes in the senses of taste and smell, with food tasting different or bad.

The symptoms of dysgeusia include a loss of characteristic sweetness or saltiness in food, food tasting metallic, and a persistent taste even when not eating or drinking. It can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life, affecting food choices and intake, and potentially leading to weight loss, malnutrition, and impaired immunity.

There are treatments available to alleviate the symptoms of dysgeusia, including artificial saliva, pilocarpine, zinc supplementation, alterations in drug therapy, and alpha lipoic acid. Additionally, maintaining good oral hygiene and seeing a doctor or dietitian for advice and support can be helpful.

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A stroke can cause a reduced ability to taste, known as hypogeusia

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. This brain damage can affect a person's ability to taste and smell, with up to a third of stroke survivors experiencing changes in these senses.

The senses of taste and smell work together. The tongue can detect five basic tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami or savoury. Flavour, however, depends mainly on your sense of smell. When you eat or drink, molecules hit the taste receptors on your tongue, while smell molecules from food and drink hit the smell receptor cells at the back of your nose. The taste and smell receptors then send information through nerves to the brain, which combines the information to allow you to detect and identify flavours.

Therefore, if a stroke damages the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell, it can cause changes to these senses. This can make it harder to eat a healthy diet and increase the risk of further strokes. For example, you may experience a reduced appetite and end up eating and drinking less than you need to. Alternatively, you might overeat to try to get more satisfaction from food or crave sweet or salty foods, which can also stop you from eating a balanced diet.

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A stroke survivor may experience phantogeusia, tasting something when they're not eating or drinking

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. If a stroke damages the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell from the nose and tongue, it can cause changes to the senses of taste and smell.

A stroke survivor may experience phantogeusia, which is tasting something when they are not eating or drinking. Phantogeusia is when a person hallucinates a particular taste, such as metallic or sweet, when it is not present. It is a type of dysgeusia, which is a common taste disorder that causes food to taste weird or distorted.

Dysgeusia can be caused by damage or impairment to the taste pathway, which includes the taste receptors in the mouth, the facial nerve (cranial nerve seven), the glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve nine), and the vagus nerve (cranial nerve ten). These nerves send signals to the sensory area of the brain, allowing us to recognize tastes.

A stroke survivor may experience dysgeusia, including phantogeusia, due to damage to the brain or nerves involved in taste sensation. This can result in a distorted sense of taste, with food tasting metallic, bitter, salty, or unpleasantly sweet.

In addition to phantogeusia, there are several other types of taste problems that a stroke survivor may experience:

  • Ageusia: the inability to taste anything.
  • Dysgeusia (also known as parageusia): food and drink taste distorted, such as bitter or metallic.
  • Hypogeusia: a reduced ability to taste, causing food to taste bland.

Coping with changes in taste after a stroke can be challenging, but there are some strategies that may help. These include maintaining good oral hygiene, using artificial saliva products, and adding herbs and spices to food to enhance flavour. It is important to seek professional advice and support from a GP, dietitian, or stroke support services.

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A stroke can cause a loss of smell, or anosmia, which affects your sense of taste

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. This brain damage can affect a person's ability to taste and smell, with up to a third of stroke survivors experiencing changes in these senses. When a stroke damages the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell from the nose and tongue, it causes changes to one's senses of taste and smell.

The senses of taste and smell work together. Our tongues can detect five basic tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami or savoury. Flavour, however, depends mainly on our sense of smell. When we eat or drink, molecules hit the taste receptors on our tongue, while smell molecules from food and drinks hit the smell receptor cells at the back of our nose. The taste and smell receptors then send information through nerves to the brain, which combines the information to let us detect and identify flavours.

Therefore, a loss of smell, or anosmia, will affect one's sense of taste. A stroke survivor may experience a reduced ability to taste, or hypogeusia, where food tastes bland. In more severe cases, one may not be able to taste anything at all, a condition known as ageusia.

The changes in one's sense of taste and smell can be upsetting as enjoying food and drink is an important part of life. Taste and smell are also closely connected to our feelings and memories. These changes can reduce one's appetite, leading to malnutrition and weight loss. It can also cause one to overeat to compensate for the lack of taste satisfaction, or crave sweet or salty foods, leading to an unbalanced diet.

Frequently asked questions

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. If the stroke damages the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell from your nose and tongue, it can cause changes to your senses of taste and smell. This may result in a total loss of taste, known as ageusia.

Changes to taste or smell can improve over time. Maintaining good oral hygiene can help, so be sure to take care of your mouth, teeth, and gums, and visit the dentist regularly. Speak to your doctor, who can help determine the cause of the problem and offer treatment and support.

Taste and smell are closely connected to our feelings and memories, so a change in these senses can reduce your appetite. You might also overeat to try to get more satisfaction from food or crave sweet or salty foods. These issues can make it difficult to eat a balanced diet and impact your recovery.

To tempt your appetite, make your food look bright and fresh by adding colourful vegetables like peas, carrots, and red peppers. Use herbs and spices to add flavour, but avoid adding salt or sugar as this can increase the risk of stroke. If you find tastes overpowering, try eating food cool instead of hot, as this can reduce strong or sweet flavours.

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