Smell and Taste Disorders... Smell and Taste Disorders
(Chemosensory Disorders) What are smell and taste disorders? The
loss of the senses of smell (anosmia) and taste (ageusia) are
the most common chemosensory disorders. The reduced ability to
smell (hyposmia) or to taste sweet, sour, bitter, or salty
substances (hypogeusia) are also common. In other disorders of
the chemosenses, odors, tastes, or flavors may be misread or
distorted, causing a person to detect an unpleasant odor or
taste from something that is normally pleasant to taste or
smell. These disorders are important because they can have a
significant impact on quality of life and be a sign of
underlying disease. Smell disorders are serious because they
damage the early warning system that can alert a person to such
things as: Spoiled food and beverages Abnormalities in taste and
smell can accompany or indicate the existence of diseases or
conditions, such as: Degenerative diseases of the nervous
system, such as: What causes smell and taste disorde