What can cause ageusia?

True complete loss of basic taste is different from losing flavour because smell is reduced. Working out which sense has changed helps narrow the possible explanation.

Taste buds detect basic tastes, while the nose detects aromas that create detailed flavour. Congestion from a common cold can block aromas from reaching smell receptors. COVID-19 can present with loss or alteration of smell and taste, sometimes without marked nasal blockage.

Dry mouth, tongue inflammation, oral infection, dental problems, smoking, and some medicines can disturb taste. Less commonly, head injury or a disorder affecting nerves or the brain may interrupt taste signals. Persistent sensory change may accompany Long COVID after the acute illness.

Write down the date of onset and whether the change was sudden, gradual, complete, or partial. Check whether you can identify a familiar scent separately from sweet or salty tastes. Note nasal symptoms, mouth pain, dental work, recent infection, injury, smoking, and any medicine started or changed near that time.

Keep eating and drinking regularly, use food labels rather than smell to judge freshness, and arrange an assessment if no straightforward temporary cause is apparent. A clinician may examine the nose, mouth, and nerves and review the medication timeline.

Book medical care when taste loss persists, repeatedly returns, causes unwanted weight change, or makes hydration and nutrition difficult. Mouth ulcers, a painful tongue, persistent nasal symptoms, or a new distorted taste also deserve discussion.

Get urgent help if sudden taste loss occurs with one-sided weakness, facial drooping, speech difficulty, confusion, a severe abrupt headache, breathing trouble, or after a significant head injury. These accompanying features require prompt assessment regardless of the sensory symptom's cause.

You can ask whether the problem appears to involve taste, smell, or both; whether your mouth, nose, dental health, or medicines offer a likely explanation; and whether any testing or specialist review is needed. Bring an up-to-date medicine list and describe associated symptoms precisely.