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[spunfromgold]

Hi! I see that this place isn't very active but I wanted to join anyway because I have a friend who lost his sense of smell about five years ago due his olfactory nerve being severed. He suffered a major head trauma and part of his skull on his left side had to be removed to allow room for his brain to swell and so the doctors could remove some

Comments

[noseblind]

I do agree that anosmics can definitely taste... I know I certainly can. Having been anosmic since I was extremely young, I don't know what the difference is. I would imagine there would be certain things that would be different. I know that food must have an extremely interesting taste in order for me to like it... if it's bland, the texture is mostly what I go by, that that has a tendency to turn me off food. Perhaps there is memory involved in this his exceptional tasting... maybe he remembers what the food tastes like from before? I really don't know. But yes, anosmics can taste. Congenital anosmics (me, not your friend) may experience it differently.

Have you discovered www.anosmia.net? It's pretty active. It's a web forum that has a lot of discussion and great info. Good luck with your research!

[palmir]

Of course he can taste. Sweet, sour, bitter, salty (and umami, if you want to give MSG its own basic taste) all have receptors on the tongue, cheeks, and palate. Granted, texture tends to be more important than flavor for anosmics, but taste is definitely a factor. Regardless, being picky about food is well within his rights - even if he couldn't taste, some textures just feel wrong. For example, many anosmics can't stand various types of beans, because of the sandy texture. Personally, I like beans, but I can't, say, drink coffee (which some anosmics like), due to its immensely bitter taste

That tricky sense of taste

[doggbreath]

I'm so happy for your friend that he's retained his sense of taste, unlike most folks I've heard of with acquired anosmia. Yes, absolutely, one does not need a sense of smell in order to differentiate flavors. I will heartily vouch for that! But it seems like usually those who've gone through life getting all that info about their food from their nose miss so much of what they're used to if they happen to lose it, they end up perceiving their food as tasteless by comparison. Your friend is very fortunate that his experience has been different.

I can't smell, have never been able to, and food tastes yummy to me. I love to eat! But that's my good fortune (I guess) of having been born with this condition. My taste buds are used to going it alone.