Advice for dealing with taste and smell disorders

The blunting of taste and smell can occur in people as they age or due to medical issues, but sometimes the deterioration of these senses can be mitigated. Here are some ideas for dealing with taste and smell disorders.

Unfortunately, no one has yet discovered a way to treat the gradual blunting of taste and smell that occurs in many people as they grow older. However, if the dulling of your sense of taste or smell is the result of a medical disorder, doctors may be able to minimize the impact by taking one or more of these three basic approaches:

1. Changing your medicines. Your doctor may be able to prescribe an alternative medication if your medicine is interfering with your sense of taste or smell.
2. Treating the root cause. Curing underlying medical problems, such as respiratory infections, can help to restore your senses of taste and smell.
3. Nasal surgery. An operation to remove obstructions that are contributing to your taste or smell difficulties may be a last resort, but the good news is that in some cases it can be very effective.

Fortunately, loss of the senses of taste and smell is frequently temporary and the situation can improve with time. Olfactory cells are able to regenerate, although this may take months or even years (for example, following a head injury). In the meantime, there are ways to give your senses a boost:

• Try using stronger flavours and more herbs and spices in your cooking to compensate for your diminished senses.
• If an underlying medical condition is causing the problem, the solution may be straightforward. For example, your doctor may be able to alleviate your stuffy nose with decongestants, treat an ear infection (which can affect taste) or prescribe allergy medications.
• Antihistamine drugs may help to reduce swelling and discharge in the case of allergies, rhinitis and sinusitis, and your sense of smell may rapidly return.
• Addressing conditions such as depression, diabetes or high-blood pressure can in some cases help to alleviate smell disorders.
• If you smoke, you will be advised to stop. Doing so may improve your smell and taste sensations, though it can take some time to regain full sensitivity.

Smell and taste are important senses that can contribute to your enjoyment of life. If you are experiencing impaired or deteriorating senses of smell and taste, you should always start by speaking with your doctor to find out about possible causes and remedies.