why cant i taste anything?

[nextqueen]

ive got an awful cold, not had one in ages. i cant taste anything, why is that? i ate some garlic bread thinking it would be strong with pasta and had 3 quality street, nothing, what a waste of calories! also where does all the running come from? to be polite about it, the liquid? i dont get it, its endless, feeling sorry for self!

[tiggerblue10]

Having a cold or flu affects your senses which is why you can't taste anything or smell anything.

[nextqueen]

that is so true, the smelling bit too, i just wouldnt know if i was burning anything or not and couldnt tell if the garlic bread was extra garlicky as stated on wrapper never mind garlic full stop, weird! i would lose so much weight if i remained like this. i know some people dont have these senses ever or have lost them, life is great tasting so many flavours.

[tiggerblue10]

What about your ears? Are they blocked? When I get a cold it sometimes blocks my ears which can also affect balance.

[nextqueen]

no my ears arent blocked thankfully, never seems to affect me there.

[tiggerblue10]

Think you're just going to have to ride it out NQ. Just have some lemsip or beechams and drink plenty of fluids (not alcohol) and you should feel better in a few days. I'd also stick to bland foods for a couple of days until your taste buds recover. You don't want to waste anything nice that you can't taste.

[DTCwordfan]

tigger - if you take a face cloth or t-towel and soak it in water as hot as you can bear, then apply it over your ear for 5 to 10 mins, it helps make the snot more runny and thereby clear the Eustachian tube......learnt this from an airline person as to flying with a blocked head....

"Don't kiss your hunny when your nose is rather runny.
'Cos you may think it's funny but it's snot!"

[nextqueen]

too true, thanks!

[BettyNoir]

whenever i lose my sense of taste i take it as an opportunity to use up all the stuff in my cupboards that i never fancy or am not that keen on.

[tiggerblue10]

Nice one DT, I'll do that next time :o). Oh and I try not to kiss anyone whether I'm fine or snotty! Lol

[Caran]

Lost my sense of taste and smell 3 years ago. Had tests but nothing came up. I love food (and drink), and cooking. Still eat what I used to love but have to rely on memories a lot now.

[nextqueen]

so where does all the 'liquid' come from then? beats me!

[Sqad]

The liquid comes from the lining of your nose which is full of tiny glands that produce fluid in response to various transgressors e.g cold viruses and allergies.

[Old_Geezer]

Well your tongue will be coated which doesn't help. But also much of the things we think we taste, we really smell instead. Block the nose and the sense of smell goes, so we think we can not taste any more. 60%, give or take a chunk, of you is water, so it has loads of places to draw from.