Ageusia is a disorder of the chemosensory organ of taste. In this disorder the patient is not able to get any taste. The tongue loses the function of taste and can’t feel any taste. Most of the people suffering with ageusia may also have loss of smell as taste and smell go hand in hand. The tongue can only feel the texture and therefore the person feels the taste of the flavor only after both sense organs i.e. nose and tongue function properly.
In ageusia, the patient doesn’t feel any taste whether it is sour, sweet, bitter, salty etc.  The ageusia is a very rare condition, the common condition that is seen is the hypogeusia where the patient has a limited loss of tate sense. They can feel the taste but in reduced intensity. The other form is dysgeusia where the distortion of taste takes place. Sometimes, even alteration of taste may occur where the patient may mistake salty taste with sourness as he cannot differentiate among the taste. In the elderly people hypogeusia is common and in many cases the elderly people are not able to feel the bitter taste.
How is ageusia diagonised?
There are many physical examinations that are conducted to find if the patient is suffering with ageusia or not. Even the cause is determined so that proper treatment can be given. There are some specific  tests that are conducted to determine the stage of ageusia. Patients are given concentration of chemicals to compare so that the doctors can understand the level up to which the patient can differentiate.
There are many causes of ageusia but most of the time, the following causes are attributed to the disorder:
· Damage of the nervous system:  If there is any injury or damage to the nerves of the tongue, it can cause ageusia. If the lingual or the glossopharyngeal nerve is damaged then the patient may sufer from this disorder. Some neurological disorders may

Filed under: Ear nose throat disorders

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