Loss of taste/smell with colds

Fat Bottom Gurl · 24th October 2009, 06:18 PM

I came down with the common cold in the last 4 days - the usual symptoms (not the swine flu). I am on Day 4 now of my cold and no longer can taste my food or smell. Why do colds effect ones sense of taste and smell?

fuelair · 24th October 2009, 06:26 PM

Block the part of it due to smell (all but salt, sweet, bitter, sour and umami (savory)) so you can taste the basics but none of the nuance due to air not carrying the other essences into the nose because of the blockage. I am, myself, overly aware of that as I write this (my second full week of it).

Fat Bottom Gurl · 24th October 2009, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by fuelair

Block the part of it due to smell (all but salt, sweet, bitter, sour and umami (savory)) so you can taste the basics but none of the nuance due to air not carrying the other essences into the nose because of the blockage. I am, myself, overly aware of that as I write this (my second full week of it).

And in addition the ears plug up. So the senses are quite poor. At least I still have sense of touch.

Fat Bottom Gurl · 24th October 2009, 07:28 PM

Just wondering as well - maybe this would be a great diet aid. If one cannot taste/smell what is the reason to overeat?

I was sitting here eating dinner tonight - could not really taste it. Just the sensations and texture but I went had for dessert a Lava Cake. I could not really taste it - but I "knew it tasted good" from previous experience. Made me wonder - if I was blindfolded would I have thought that Lava Cake was good? I could not taste it but I ate it none-the-less because previous experience told me that Lava Cake was almost better than sex.

Jeff Corey · 24th October 2009, 07:54 PM

Like Fuelair said, what we call taste is really in the most part the sense of smell. Blocking off the olfactory epithelium with massive amounts of mucus limits us to the rudimentary sensations on our taste buds.
This is why amateur cooks like me who spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen with the beef stew ask others who haven't had their olfactory receptors adapt out to taste the stew for seasoning.

alfaniner · 25th October 2009, 07:10 AM

It's a similar problem that astronauts have in microgravity. The sinuses are not able to drain due to gravity and stuffy heads are common, along with food tasting bland. It is one reason that they asked for more spices in their catering to make the food more palatable.

24th October 2009, 06:18 PM	#1
Fat Bottom Gurl Hot Tub Hottie Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Somewhere on the 3rd Meridian Posts: 540	Loss of taste/smell with colds I came down with the common cold in the last 4 days - the usual symptoms (not the swine flu). I am on Day 4 now of my cold and no longer can taste my food or smell. Why do colds effect ones sense of taste and smell?
	__________________ Keeper of the Secret Stuff. Last edited by Fat Bottom Gurl; 24th October 2009 at 06:28 PM.

24th October 2009, 06:26 PM	#2
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,961	Block the part of it due to smell (all but salt, sweet, bitter, sour and umami (savory)) so you can taste the basics but none of the nuance due to air not carrying the other essences into the nose because of the blockage. I am, myself, overly aware of that as I write this (my second full week of it).
fuelair Cythraul Enfys Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 28,961	__________________ There is no problem so great that it cannot be fixed by small explosives carefully placed. Wash this space! We fight for the Lady Babylon!!!

24th October 2009, 06:35 PM	#3
Fat Bottom Gurl Hot Tub Hottie Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Somewhere on the 3rd Meridian Posts: 540	Originally Posted by fuelair Block the part of it due to smell (all but salt, sweet, bitter, sour and umami (savory)) so you can taste the basics but none of the nuance due to air not carrying the other essences into the nose because of the blockage. I am, myself, overly aware of that as I write this (my second full week of it). And in addition the ears plug up. So the senses are quite poor. At least I still have sense of touch.
	__________________ Keeper of the Secret Stuff.

24th October 2009, 07:28 PM	#4
Fat Bottom Gurl Hot Tub Hottie Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Somewhere on the 3rd Meridian Posts: 540	Just wondering as well - maybe this would be a great diet aid. If one cannot taste/smell what is the reason to overeat? I was sitting here eating dinner tonight - could not really taste it. Just the sensations and texture but I went had for dessert a Lava Cake. I could not really taste it - but I "knew it tasted good" from previous experience. Made me wonder - if I was blindfolded would I have thought that Lava Cake was good? I could not taste it but I ate it none-the-less because previous experience told me that Lava Cake was almost better than sex.
	__________________ Keeper of the Secret Stuff. Last edited by Fat Bottom Gurl; 24th October 2009 at 07:34 PM.

25th October 2009, 07:10 AM	#6
alfaniner Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Sorth Dakonsin Posts: 11,398	It's a similar problem that astronauts have in microgravity. The sinuses are not able to drain due to gravity and stuffy heads are common, along with food tasting bland. It is one reason that they asked for more spices in their catering to make the food more palatable.
	__________________ Science doesn't lie.

24th October 2009, 07:54 PM	#5
Jeff Corey New York Skeptic Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 13,795	Like Fuelair said, what we call taste is really in the most part the sense of smell. Blocking off the olfactory epithelium with massive amounts of mucus limits us to the rudimentary sensations on our taste buds. This is why amateur cooks like me who spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen with the beef stew ask others who haven't had their olfactory receptors adapt out to taste the stew for seasoning.