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Difference between Ageusia and Anosmia
Ageusia is the total inability to perceive flavours. When someone has anosmia, they have completely lost their sense of smell. Read this article to learn more about Ageusia and Anosmia and how they are different from each other.
What is Ageusia?
Loss of all taste sensation in the tongue is known as ageusia. The gustatory receptors on the tongue synapse with several neurons that send the feeling of taste to the brain.
Ageusia's symptoms include a diminished desire to eat and a resulting weight loss since the affected person can no longer enjoy the flavour of food. It's important to differentiate this from hypogeusia, which simply refers to a diminished sense of taste. In contrast to ageusia, the symptoms of hypogeusia would be milder, and some sense of taste would remain, unlike in the case of ageusia, in which all sense of taste would be lost.
Patients are diagnosed after a thorough physical examination and medical history are collected. Taste may also be examined by a number of other methods, such as electrogustometry and chemogustometry.
Many things can lead to ageusia, but two of the most common are injuries to the glossopharyngeal and lingual nerves in the skull. Loss of taste can be caused by a number of diseases and disorders, including diabetes, hypothyroidism, Sjogren syndrome, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's disease, and pernicious anaemia.
Ageusia may also be brought on by trauma to the face or head, as well as malignancy of the head or neck. Further, there is a possibility that COVID-19 is to blame for ageusia in certain people. Anorexia, excessive weight loss, and nutritional deficiencies are all possible outcomes of this disorder, in addition to the discomfort and loss of enjoyment that accompany them.
There is currently no known cure for nerve injury, however in cases when an underlying sickness is to blame, taste may return after the condition is treated.
What is Anosmia?
Total inability to smell is known as anosmia. Olfactory receptors detect molecules in the nose and send messages through olfactory nerves to the brain, allowing humans to smell.
Those suffering with anosmia have a complete inability to smell, which can be mistaken for ageusia (loss of taste) because scent is an integral aspect of our taste buds. Anosmia, like ageusia, is the entire lack of the functioning of the specific sense, and must be distinguished from hyposmia, which is a diminished capacity to smell.
The patient's medical history and a physical examination, including an inspection of the nasal passages for blockages, are used to arrive at a diagnosis.
Certain viruses that infect and inflame the central nervous system, such as CMV, herpes zoster, and herpes simplex, have been linked to cases of anosmia and its associated consequences. Anosmia can also be brought on by allergies, nasal polyps, chronic sinusitis, rhinitis, and a number of other conditions that cause inflammation of the nasal passages.
COVID-19 has been linked to anosmia in several studies; Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease can also cause a loss of smell. Anosmia may also be caused by trauma to the nose, which damages the olfactory nerve.
Differences: Ageusia and Anosmia
The following table highlights the major differences between Ageusia and Anosmia −
Characteristics |
Ageusia |
Anosmia |
|---|---|---|
Definition |
Ageusia is a complete loss of taste sensation and ability by the tongue. |
Anosmia is a total and complete loss of the ability to smell with the nose. |
Diagnosis |
A physical exam, medical history, chemogustometry or electrogustometry tests are performed in order to diagnose ageusia in a patient. |
A physical exam, medical history and examination for nasal obstructions help to diagnose anosmia. |
Symptoms |
The symptoms of ageusia include having no sense of taste, often resulting in a lack of appetite and thus, weight loss. |
The symptoms of anomia include having no sense of smell and thus not enjoying life as much as before. |
Causes |
Diabetes, hypothyroid conditions, Sjogren syndrome, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, pernicious anemia, cancers of the neck and throat, and COVID-19 can all cause ageusia. |
Viral infections such as herpes, cytomegalovirus, and COVID-19 can result in loss of smell; traumatic injury Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, chronic nose and sinus infections, and polyps in the nose can all be causes of anosmia. |
Conclusion
In case of ageusia, the lingual and glossopharyngeal nerves may be impacted, affecting the transmission of the gustatory impulses to the brain. In anosmia, the olfactory nerves may be impacted causing a problem with the transmission of the olfactory impulses to the brain.
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