Remedy for Loss of Taste

Consumption of drugs and medicines can affect the taste buds leading to changes in the taste of saliva and the food that we eat. This is called as reversible taste perversions. Accompanied by compromised sense of taste it can affect the smell causing diminished interest in consumption of food. You may tend to under eat leading to deficiencies or you may go to other extreme leading to over eating to keep on trying to find whether there is taste in the food. Consult with the doctor and ask if you can change the medication. Even if new medication is introduced, it may take time for improving your taste as the effects of previous may linger in the mouth.

Certain remedies that can be useful for improving the taste are:

• Bring variety in preparation and contrast combinations. You can introduce contrasting tastes like sweet with sour or serve hot food with cold foods. Serve hot brownies with cold ice-cream. This can make the food interesting to eat. Add color in your food. Serve colorful salads with crunch texture.
• Cook by adding flavor from above. After preparing food, add a tinge of lemon or certain spices that can provide a unique flavor in food.
• Take a while to chew foods. This makes digestion easy and also breaks down the food cells thus releasing the flavor compounds in the mouth.
• A zinc deficiency can affect the taste. A 15 mgs of zinc can improve the taste capacity. Consult your doctor for zinc deficiency.
• Avoid left over and stale foods. Have more of fresh foods.

answered by J M

Lamisil is a class B drug that can be prescribed in varying doses for a toenail fungal infection. There are various side effects that are listed as a result of prolonged use, including loss of sense of smell and taste. Some more drastic side effects include its impact on the liver. Lamisil has a direct impact on how the liver functions. It can lead to increased levels of toxicity in the liver. Other side effects include feelings of nausea, bloated feeling due to gas, and skin irritations.

Usually it works best if you discontinue the use of the drug depending on the extent to which it is disrupting your day-to-day functioning. The sense of taste will not come back immediately after you cease to consume the drug. It may take a few weeks for the taste buds to function at par.

Meanwhile you may also want to get a liver toxicity test done to ensure that the levels of toxicity in the liver are not highly elevated. Also following any future course of action suggested by your doctor may expedite the return of your sense of taste. All of this needs to be done under the guidance of a trained medical practitioner.

Overall the prognosis is good once you can stop taking the medication. In most cases the sense of taste returns 4-6 weeks from the time the drug was stopped. Very rarely is there persistent taste loss spanning a few years.

answered by G R