The first thing is to find out what is causing the changes to your sense of taste and smell. If it’s due to something apart from stroke, such as medication side effects or an infection, it may be possible to improve things by reviewing medication or treating the underlying cause.
How are taste and smell problems diagnosed and treated?
Contact your GP or stroke nurse. They can give advice and treatment or can make appointments with other professionals. These can include:
- Specialist in ear, nose and throat, known as an otorhinolaryngologist or ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT).
- Dietitian to give you advice about food and eating.
- Speech and language therapist to help with swallowing problems and eating.
Your pharmacist or GP can do a medication review to check if medications are causing the problem and if anything can be done to help.
A dentist can check that your teeth and mouth are healthy.
Taste and smell tests
These tests aim to find out if you can identify a taste or smell, and how strongly you can smell or taste.
- A taste assessment might include tasting different liquids or dissolving taste strips on your tongue.
- A smell test involves being given a range of common odours to sniff.
Looking after your mouth and teeth (oral hygiene)
Some problems with taste and smell can be helped by treating the underlying cause. Tooth and gum infections can cause taste changes, so it’s important to keep your mouth and teeth clean. We have some tips for oral hygiene.
Practical changes to how you eat and drink
If you have longer-lasting problems, there are things you can do to help you enjoy your food. Over time, you may find that things improve and you start being able to identify more tastes, or regain more of the ability to smell. Read our practical tips for eating and drinking.
Smell training
Smell training is based on the idea that you can relearn smell by practising with familiar scents. Smell training involves short daily sessions where you focus on smelling a small number of different scents. You record your responses each time to track any changes or improvements in what you can smell.
Find out more about smell training
SmellTaste is a charity dedicated to people with smell and taste disorders. Learn more about smell training and download free resources to help you test your sense of smell at home.
What causes changes to taste and smell after a stroke?
Stroke damage in the brain
A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off, killing brain cells. A stroke can cause changes to any of your senses, including vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell. If a stroke damages the parts of the brain that interpret information about taste and smell from your nose and tongue, it causes changes to your senses of taste and smell.
Your stroke is unique to you, so the exact effect depends on how big the area of damage is and where it is in your brain.
Like many effects of stroke, taste and smell changes can recover in the first few weeks and months after a stroke. If you have longer-lasting changes, the mentioned treatments and practical steps may help.
What else could be causing my problems with taste and smell?
It’s a good idea to speak to your GP or stroke nurse to find out if something else could be causing or contributing to your problems with taste and smell. Other causes may include:
Some common medications can cause a bad taste, loss of smell or dry mouth. They include some medications often used after a stroke, such as blood pressure, cholesterol and muscle relaxant medications. Some antibiotics, diabetes medication, antidepressants and anti-inflammatories can also do this.
Infections in your nose or sinuses can cause a bad taste in the mouth or loss of taste and smell. Infections of the mouth and teeth can also have this effect, so good oral hygiene is important. Check out our tips for looking after your mouth and teeth for more information.
Swallowing problems after a stroke can give you a dry mouth. This may lead to a bad taste, as well as making an infection more likely. A speech and language therapist can assess you and give treatment for swallowing problems.
Our sense of taste and smell decreases naturally with age.
Other conditions, such as dementia, cancer and Parkinson’s disease, can affect taste and smell.
Diabetes
Diabetes has been linked to a loss of taste and smell, and some diabetes medication can cause a metallic taste in the mouth.
Migraines and seizures
Some migraines and seizures can be preceded by taste or smell disturbances.
Covid-19 can cause a loss of smell and taste. To get medical advice about Covid-19, visit NHS 111 online or call 111.
Helpline
Do you want more information or support about taste and smell changes? Our Stroke Support Helpline is for anyone affected by a stroke and can help with any aspect of stroke.
Call us on 0303 3033 100, from a textphone 18001 0303 3033 100 or email helpline@stroke.org.uk