Causes of Taste Loss
Age, Viral and Bacterial Infections
Most people have over ten thousand taste buds. However, as we grow these taste buds reduce and the existing buds reduce in size. After 60 years, people experience loss of sensitivity to the five tastes (sweet, bitter, Unami, sour and salty). The mouth also dries up because of inadequate production of saliva. Taste buds lose their ability to identify tastes as we old. Loss of smell occurs as we age, this leads to impaired taste or complete loss of taste. There are also several medical conditions associated with aging that result in loss of taste.
When the upper respiratory tract is infected (viral or bacterial), It causes symptoms such as nasal congestion and a runny nose. These symptoms reduce the ability to perceive odors, which affects the ability to taste. It mostly seems like your taste buds have stopped functioning when a person has a cold or flu. However, a person’s sense of taste is not usually effective without their sense of smell. Most common upper respiratory tract infection is common cold.